The Present That Counts
by RevSue
Summary: A story of the romance between Nanny & Sir Wilkes from the beginning ....
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters since the Eloise movies and the characters are the property of Disney and Kay Thompson. I make no money from this work of fiction!_

"I am Eloise. I am almost six. I live here at the Plaza Hotel. Here is my card ..." said the little girl who had pushed into his path just as Wilkes was stepping up to the front desk. She handed him a small cardboard square

Rather taken aback, Wilkes looked a trifle helplessly at the manager behind the desk.

"Yes, sir. May I help you?" Mr. Salomone directed a glare at Eloise then transferred his gaze to Wilkes.

"My name is Wilkes ..."

"Sir Wilkes!" Suddenly Mr. Salomone's face changed, and his manner became obsequious. "We've been expecting you, Sir Wilkes. Yes, we have. I meant to be ready, and I tried, but, well, it is such an honour, Sir Wilkes, that you have chosen OUR hotel as your home-away-from-home for the next few years. The Plaza is a five-star hotel ..."

Wilkes listened patiently while the hotel manager waxed eloquent until suddenly the clamour of the bell being repeated hit made the man break off his flow of words and glare once more at the small blonde child beaming up at him as he protected his bell from the onslaught of her fist.

"Yes, Eloise," Mr. Salomone said in a long-suffering voice.

"I absolutely HAVE to ask ..." She turned to Wilkes, "Is your first name really SIR?"

"Er, no. My given name is Wilkes, the sir is ..."

"Oh my Lord, you mean you're absolutely a real KNIGHT? SIR Wilkes?" Eloise was obviously thrilled. "Did you have to kill a dragon to get to be a knight? And rescue the fair damsel in distress?"

While Wilkes shook his head, a trifle embarrassed at the child's words, Mr. Salomone again attempted to interrupt, but to no avail.

Eloise continued to babble excitedly. "I've never met a real KNIGHT before! Will you show me your sword sometime? Because a REAL knight absolutely HAS to own a sword, of course! Everyone knows that! This is absolutely DIVINE! Oh, and Sir Wilkes, I can show you where you are going to be living, because it's right down the hall from us. Lily was telling me ALL about you ... at least, what we know, which isn't much. Are you married? Do you have any little girls? Well, not so little, for Lord's sake, but about the age of ME, Eloise!"

"I'm afraid not. I'm sorry." Wilkes felt wretchedly guilty when he saw the child's smile leave her face.

Eloise heaved a sigh. "That's all right. At least I have Nanny to play with. She likes to play."

"Nanny?" Wilkes questioned feebly.

"She's my mostly-companion. I love her next to Maman."

"I see."

"She's English. Like you. Do you say things three times too? Nanny ALWAYS does! I asked her why, but she just told me not to be rude, rude, rude!"

"Actually, I ..."

"Eloise," Mr. Salomone broke into the conversation a little desperately. "Don't you have something else to do?"

The little girl looked puzzled. "No, I don't THINK so!" She beamed up at Wilkes again. "Sir Wilkes, do you know Mr. Peabody? He's the owner of the Plaza Hotel. Did you know that he's a great businessman and terribly, terribly, TERRIBLY dapper?"

"No, I didn't know that. How remarkable ..." Wilkes said weakly.

"What does dapper mean?" was the child's next question.

"Er ..."

"Eloise?"

The sound of a woman's voice caused all three to turn towards the staircase.

"Oops! Gotta skitter!" Eloise said, and scampered in the opposite direction.

"Eloise?" A frazzled-looking woman came around the corner and stepped up to the front desk, hardly paying any attention to Wilkes. "Oh, Mr. Salomone, I cannot apologize enough, but 'ave you seen Eloise? I've been looking for her everywhere, in all the usual places ... Aoww, I know I should try someplace NOT usual, because this IS Eloise ..."

"She was just ..." Mr. Salomone began.

Wilkes interrupted him. "I had the pleasure of meeting Eloise, and I look forward to further acquaintance."

The woman brushed a strand of hair out of her face and smiled widely at him as she said, "Eloise 'as a big 'eart, but she can be rawther overwhelming at times. I just 'ope she showed some manners, for sure, sure, sure!"

Looking into eyes bluer than the lake near his English home and feeling the warmth from her lovely smile, Wilkes was startled by a sudden jolt of attraction for this woman he had never seen before, and wondered if the flash he noticed in her eyes meant she had felt it, too. "My name is Wilkes ..."

"SIR Wilkes!" Mr. Salomone put in, importantly.

The woman's cheeks turning a faint pink as she emitted a faint squeak. "We'd 'eard ... HEARD you were coming... Aoww, I DO apologize, Sir ... "

"Excuse me, but are you Nanny or Maman?" Wilkes found himself interrupting her.

Her face flushed even more and her eyes dropped to avoid his scrutiny. "I'm Nanny ..."

Nanny's demeanour had changed subtly. Wilkes wondered what caused it, and frowned slightly in puzzlement. Before he could put his finger on the change, Nanny had excused herself and hurried over to the elevator. Wilkes turned back to Mr. Salomone to complete his business, but his mind stayed on the woman with the remarkable blue eyes.

O o O o O o

Seeing that Max's elevator was at the eighth floor, Nanny walked rapidly past the bank of elevators and whisked around the corner where she stopped and leaned against a wall while catching her breath. Oh my LORD, she had never expected the new gentleman on their floor to be so ... so .... well, he had certainly sent her blood pressure soaring! His smile, his politeness, the air of ... of NOBILITY that surrounded him ... and those searching eyes that seemed to look at her and IN her, and reveal her innermost feelings of inadequacy.

Then she scoffed at herself. Ridiculous! He had merely been polite after she had so rudely pushed past him in her anxiety about Eloise's whereabouts. So why was her heart still pounding? Why, for an instant as she had gazed into his brown eyes, had she felt like throwing herself at his feet and asking him to walk on her? How attractive THAT would have been!

Suddenly she heard his voice at the elevators, and she held her breath. He WAS getting on the elevator, wasn't he? He wouldn't come around the corner ... WOULD he? It was fully five minutes before Nanny felt it safe to move, five long minutes in which she refused to admit that she had been almost irresistibly drawn to a complete stranger ... a KNIGHT, for Lord's sake!

O o O o O o

"Sir Wilkes!" Eloise's shrill voice greeted Wilkes as he stepped out of the elevator on the top floor of the Plaza Hotel, key in hand to the suite where he expected to live for the next few years while completing some business transactions and signing off a company to his nephew's care. "Mr. Salomone sent you up here all by yourself without even someone to carry your BAGS? I thought this was supposed to be a five-star hotel! At least, that's what he's always telling me. It gets rawther boring, if you ask me!"

"Miss Eloise," Wilkes bowed slightly and touched his bowler as if she were an adult. "My luggage is to arrive later, and will be delivered." He spoke a trifle awkwardly, not having had much to do with small children. Privately he had always felt that his one and only nephew had been born an adult! That could be, of course, because Wilkes' sister was much older than he was himself, and had made a point of living up to the social position she enjoyed to the best of her ability. That had meant that her son had been raised by a nurse until he was old enough to attend school, then had been shunted off to boarding school. Wilkes had only seen him once a year, at Christmas, for an hour or two.

"That's all right then! Now see, this is where Nanny and I live ..." she threw open the double doors and he looked into a homey-looking living room with a fireplace between large windows overlooking Central Park.

"Your nanny was looking for you earlier," he commented. "I trust she found you?" He looked around, hoping to see the woman who had caught his interest with her beautiful eyes.

"Not yet," Eloise said carelessly. "I skittered as fast as I everly could to get up here first. I wanted to show you YOUR place!" She caught his hand after pulling the doors to her suite closed, and danced down the hallway to the end. "Here. This is where YOU are going to live! And you WILL tell me stories about fighting the dragons, won't you, Sir Wilkes?"

"My story-telling is a little rusty," he admitted with a faint smile, "but I shall attempt to do my best to entertain you sometime. When your nanny permits, of course."

"Oh, Nanny doesn't mind! She's rawther unusual for a Nanny. You know what, Sir Wilkes?"

"What?"

"When you smile, you look really, really, really nice! You get these nice little crinkles just in the corners of your eyes ... Nanny's heart was broken once, you know."

Caught off guard by the sudden switch in topic, Wilkes blinked. "Er, was it?"

"Yes. So was Philip's. Philip's my tutor. He broke up with his girlfriend only three years ago and that broke HIS heart, but Nanny's had to suffer DREADFULLY with hers for ever and ever and ever. Or so she says. But now she has Maman and me. Maman was a debutante, you know! She wore Dior! I'm going to be a debutante when I grow up, and go to the Debutante Ball at the Plaza in April. I bet you weren't a debutante, because you're a boy. Did you miss not being one?"

"I ..." Wilkes had tried to keep up with the conversation, but now concluded he was too old. He inserted the key into the lock and opened up his rooms. Eloise bounced inside first, without waiting for permission.

"You have a really nice suite, too, Sir Wilkes. It only has one bedroom, not three like ours, but that's all right because you don't have Nanny living with you, or a maman who needs a room sometimes like we do. But you have a fireplace, too. Aren't they absolutely divine? Too bad you just missed Christmas. I absolutely LOVE Christmas! Nanny and I sit and read out loud in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve ... I lie with my head in her lap and she reads me Dickens' Christmas Carol because she says it'll improve my mind. Maman usually just listens and smiles. Maybe next Christmas you can come and listen, too, if you want."

A vision, of himself lying with his head in Nanny's lap while she read aloud, presented itself to Wilkes and he felt himself blushing. Before he could say something, a woman's voice came from behind him.

"Eloise?"

Wilkes whirled around, and there, standing hesitantly in the doorway and avoiding meeting his eyes directly, was Eloise's nanny, looking prim and proper, her clothing functional rather than attractive. Yet he knew right away that he was physically attracted to her... and knew that she knew it, too.

"Oh, Sir Wilkes, I cannot apologize enough … Eloise should never have..." Nanny stammered.

"Tosh, tosh, tosh!" Wilkes held up his hand to stop her. "Miss Eloise has been wonderful."

Eloise beamed up at him. He removed his hat and swept her a magnificent bow, and Eloise was beside herself with excitement. "Oh, oh, oh! You did that JUST as if I was the queen! It was absolutely divine! Oh, Sir Wilkes! Nanny, did you see that? Isn't he absolutely the most wonderful knight in the whole wide world?"

"Aoww, my Lord ..." Nanny swallowed hard. Then she frowned at Eloise. "Eloise, you KNOW that Philip is waiting for you, and it is rude, rude, rude to make him wait when you are roaming around the Plaza! It's time to go back to the suite, pet, and get at your lessons. Come along, love, let's move, move, move!"

Eloise sagged, making a face. "But Philip's boring, boring, boring, Nanny!"

"Perhaps when your lessons are finished," Wilkes found himself coming to the child's rescue, much to his surprise, "I will have remembered some, er, dragon-fighting stories."

"Oh, Sir Wilkes, that would be ABSOLUTELY DIVINE!" Eloise almost shrieked and launched herself at him, giving him a big hug before dancing off down the corridor. "Ta ta!"

"Thank you, Sir Wilkes ..." Nanny slipped out quickly after her charge before Wilkes had recovered from the shock of the little girl's hug.

"Ta ta ..." he said to the now-empty doorway. Then he looked around the suite. It was very nice for a hotel suite, he conceded... but after having had Eloise invade it for even a few minutes, Wilkes had to admit that now it seemed very quiet and... dull.

Frowning, he quashed his vague discontent and resolved to think no more about Eloise OR her "rawther unusual" nanny with the vivid blue eyes.

O o O o O o

While Eloise sat listlessly on the floor at Philip's feet, Nanny busied herself in her bedroom, trying vainly once more to push Sir Wilkes out of her mind. Yes, he was debonair, attractive, and very nice... but he was above her station and she had no business even THINKING about him in that way; if she didn't get hold of herself, Eloise would notice and Nanny's life would be over because the child would tell everyone including Sir Wilkes himself!

Over the next couple of months, however, Nanny found out it was impossible to stop dreaming about Sir Wilkes even though they skirted around their mutual physical attraction. Eloise was no help in Nanny's silent battle of avoidance, since she persistently left the doors of the suite open in the mornings, and more often than not, Sir Wilkes was passing by. Nanny lost track of the times she had to dodge behind the door and pretend to shut it while sneakily peeking out at him as he walked away. He truly had wonderful manners... which was more than she could say for young Eloise, for sure, sure, sure! Ordering room service while upside down in the chair indeed, and then running across to open the doors once again, KNOWING that Bill would not be up with their breakfast that quickly. Honestly!

O o O o O o

Eloise's sixth birthday came and went in a whirlwind of activity with her mother, then Nanny and Eloise were on their own again. Wilkes had been busy for the short time Kay was in New York, but he heard all about her time with her daughter from Eloise on one of the child's infrequent visits. He secretly wondered why Nanny seemed to be more responsible for the young girl than her own mother, but conceded that it was none of his business. Eloise, when she popped in for an occasional visit with him, prattled about Nanny much more than her mother, which suited Wilkes. He was anxious to find out all he could about Nanny, although he was finding it very difficult to speak with the woman.

Most mornings, as he strode down the hallway towards the elevator, he would come to Nanny's suite just as she got there with the intention of closing the doors. Sometimes he could hear her scolding Eloise for leaving them open. Her expression would change the moment she caught sight of him, and she would flush as she mumbled, "Good morning, Sir Wilkes."

He would return her greeting gravely, raising his hat and bowing politely, then would resume his march to the elevator, very conscious that her eyes were following his retreat. Having someone watching his every movement was something new for him, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. After all, he knew very well that there was nothing at all special about him! His looks were very ordinary, after all. Had Nanny been an American, he might have suspected that she was impressed by him merely because of his title, because he had been informed that many Americans thought highly of the British aristocracy. But Nanny was as British as he was, or probably even more so, he conceded, since he had been born in Canada! Since Nanny never presumed to engage him in a conversation and indeed rarely looked directly at him, he was forced to find out what he could about her in tidbits from Eloise's random conversation. Eloise generally was a font of information, sometimes useless, sometimes pertinent.

One morning, Wilkes was conscious of an unusual frenzy of activity in the Plaza when he was returning to his suite with the daily paper. He got on the elevator and made his way to the corner at the back, then realized Nanny was beside him. Acknowledging her with a smile, he was about to question her as to the meaning of the bustling hotel when Mrs. Daniels, having overheard Nanny's murmur of his name, overwhelmed him with her gushing words. Ah! The Debutante Ball! He should have remembered, after hearing Eloise talking about it over and over again.

He saw Nanny eying Mrs. Daniels' figure and smirked inwardly, not realizing that he was being impolite and ignoring the woman's limp hand she had held out to him. Mrs. Daniels was just the sort of woman he was used to having flutter around him, and all because of his title! He didn't know why it didn't bother him that Nanny seemed in awe of him, doubtless because of his title as well. Perhaps it was because she never said anything to him about it... perhaps it was because of the look in her eyes any time she saw him... but probably it was because of how spectacular it made him feel, knowing that she admired him yet didn't feel the need to fawn over him!

When Mrs. Daniels was gone, Wilkes considered the invitation to the ball. He normally hated dances ... but Eloise had been saying for weeks that she planned to attend, and he assumed that Nanny would naturally be there if the child was. He wondered if Nanny would dance with him... and hoped that IF he went and IF she agreed to dance with him, he would not repeat his terrible blunder from the last time he had danced more than ten years ago when he had broken three bones in his sister's foot. What would he do if he stepped on Nanny's foot the way he had stepped on his sister's foot that night?

That very afternoon, although he had hesitated before accepting Mrs. Daniels' invitation to tea, he was flabbergasted when Nanny arrived obviously thinking that he had invited HER for tea. Once Nanny had figured out what had happened and had begun to apologize profusely, her face flushing, Wilkes admired Eloise's ingenuity. Imagine sending an invitation to Nanny from HIM! He never would have thought of it. Of course, it had been a little embarrassing in the beginning, but he was ever so grateful to Nanny for remaining to act as a buffer between Mrs. Daniels and himself. And when Nanny roused herself to speak to Mrs. Daniels, Wilkes was most impressed with the wisdom and insight she showed. He knew for sure then that he wanted to get to know Nanny better!

Unfortunately, the tea ended very quickly, with Mrs. Daniels storming off. Nanny suggested he follow, and although that was the last thing he wanted to do, upon reflection he thought that perhaps it was for the best. Mrs. Daniels refused to see him, but her daughter assured him that the invitation to the ball that night was still open and that he was to be SURE to come. Riding up the elevator from the eighth floor to the sixteenth, Wilkes discovered from Max that Eloise and therefore Nanny would also be at the ball.

Accordingly, that night Wilkes attended the first ball he had been to in over a decade. Although he stood at the edge of the dance floor and searched, he couldn't find Nanny. He thought he caught a glimpse of her at the other end of the room, and plunged into the crowds in that direction. Alas, it wasn't her. But he DID find Eloise who pointed out to him the food table and told him to go look at it because she, Eloise, had been the one to plan the menu!

There he found Nanny. Any question whether or not Eloise had deliberately sent him over there was promptly forgotten when he looked in Nanny's eyes and saw again the spark of attraction that he had experienced the day they had met. He puffed up with pride and joy when she asked him to dance, and led her to the floor with alacrity, saying, "I cannot keep calling you Nanny!" Surely it was time he learned her first name!

"No, I ... suppose you can't," Nanny almost gasped, flushing again before adding, "but I'd rawther not be called Miss... it sounds ridiculous at my age. And you know, my name IS Nanny!"

"It IS?"

"I'm ... afraid so."

He spun her out then smiled at her as she returned to his arms. "Just plain Nanny it is, then."

"That's me, for sure, sure, sure," she sighed.

She sounded dispirited all of a sudden. Wilkes' eyes sharpened. "You're not, you know," he said softly.

"Not what?" Nanny asked blankly.

"Plain."

Nanny stared at him in astonishment, then ducked her head in embarrassment. "Oh my stars, stars, stars, I don't need flattery!" she muttered.

The lighting in the ballroom had been dimmed somewhat to make the atmosphere more romantic. The soft glow in the corner where they shortly found themselves softened her features and blended the lines that were etched in her face. She WAS beautiful, he realized with a start, and not just because of her eyes. She didn't have the youthful peaches-and-cream perfection she had undoubtedly known years ago and she no longer had a slim, youthful body, but she was beautiful with a kind of beauty that had and would last a lifetime. Her face had a wonderful strength and character that would be there even when she was ninety. Her blue eyes would shine until her death with the same intensity as they shone now. He shook his head, keeping his eyes on her. "You are beautiful, Nanny," he murmured huskily.

Nanny just grimaced faintly and looked away. "I know what I am... I can see myself every time I look in a mirror. My Irish grandmother would say to you, 'That's enough of your blarney, young man!' and she'd be right, for Lord's sake."

Wilkes was intrigued by this new and almost introspective side of Nanny he had never seen, but he had the feeling that if he tried to take advantage of it to get to know her better, she would skitter back into the brittle shell that she wore around herself most of the time, keeping her innermost thoughts secret while acting boisterous and loud. "I think you are VERY beautiful," he insisted.

Nanny smiled indulgently, shaking her head just a bit. She knew she wasn't... and she knew that HE knew that she knew! He was... aoww, he was sweet, sweet, sweet!

At one point they found themselves next to Eloise and the young prince. Eloise grinned and said, "Oh, Nanny, I'm having an absolutely divine time at my first Debutante Ball!"

Nanny snorted and said, "Imagine my surprise!"

As they continued dancing, Wilkes reflected that for once in his life, he was glad he had come to a dance ... because he found that he was loving holding Nanny in his arms. Gradually he steered them over to the side, and their steps slowed until they were merely swaying in each other's arms. She looked into his eyes, and the spark of attraction that had flared between them earlier took firmer hold. No words were needed to confirm its existence. Wilkes realized he wanted to kiss her, REALLY wanted to kiss her. He was certain, too, that it showed on his face. Something, perhaps the slight shift of her body towards his or the way her eyes softened, told him that she wanted him to kiss her too. Unable to stop himself, he reached up and rubbed his thumb across her cheek. "Nanny..."

She stepped back immediately, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I should go find Eloise, for sure, sure, sure. Do you mind?"

"Er ... no, of course not ..." he stammered, wondering if he had misread the signals. He was definitely rusty enough that it was more than possible! Either way, he couldn't deny that she had been right to stop whatever was happening between them. They were much too old to indulge in such nonsense... in public! Nevertheless, as he watched her walk away, he sighed. He very much wished he had had the courage to persuade her to stay.

Nanny hurried out of the ballroom with an undeniable sense of regret for her own cold feet. A dance was just a dance, for Lord's sake! It was plain that she had just been too, too, too long without attention from the opposite sex! That must be what would explain her overcharged response to Sir Wilkes' arm around her waist and his hand clasped with hers. After all, she was human, a normal woman with normal needs... but she was also Eloise's nanny, and he was a knight, for Lord's sake, and she had no business dreaming impossible dreams!

O o O o O o

Following the Debutante Ball, Wilkes deliberately came around more often when he was in New York City, although his summer months were mostly spent back in Britain. He invited Nanny and Eloise to tea a few times, and Eloise was more than equal to keeping the conversation going on those occasions. The air between Wilkes and Nanny continued to be constrained, however, and Wilkes wasn't quite sure what to do about it. Perhaps Nanny preferred it this way?

Walking down the hall on his way to work a week before Christmas, Wilkes heard faint screams from suite 1625 where the doors were wide open as was usual in the mornings. He hurried to the doorway then stopped dead, seeing Nanny sitting with tinsel and Christmas lights wrapped around her body as if tying her to the chair, softly calling 'Help!' and straining against her 'bonds' while Bill and Eloise battled it out with a large candy-cane and a wooden spoon. His worry subsided, and a smile crossed his face as he watched.

When they seemed to have finished their game and Bill and Eloise had asked for and received permission from Nanny to have Eloise meet Bill at four o'clock to set up for a party, Wilkes cleared his throat. All eyes turned towards him, startled, as no one had been aware of an audience.

"Sir Wilkes!" Nanny gasped, her eyes wide as she remained frozen in her chair, horrified at having been caught in the middle of a game with Eloise. She felt like a fool with the tinsel and Christmas lights draped over her torso.

Wilkes stepped into the room, saying, "I heard the fair damsel calling for help, so I came to her rescue." Then, glancing over at Nanny, he bowed and said upon straightening up, "Have you been saved, my Lady, or might I still play a part in this drama? Although I must admit I do not have my white horse..."

Eloise grinned and bounced over to Sir Wilkes, her candy-cane waving. "I am the Pirate Eloise, and this is my prisoner! You'll have to fight me for her hand, Sir Wilkes!"

"Ah. Yes, yes. Fight for the right to win her hand ... as in... fencing?" He switched his umbrella to his other hand and assumed the correct fencing position, his left arm up behind him, his knees slightly bent, and his umbrella out as his sword.

"Oooh!" Nanny, covered in blushes, was about to jump to her feet when he put his hand on her shoulder. She subsided with a thump, feeling the heat from his hand burning her skin even after he released her.

"Stay, fair lady ... I am ready and willing to fight for you... please allow me to play the part of a REAL knight! En garde, you pirate!" and he parried his umbrella with Eloise's candy-cane.

Beaming, Eloise made a few swipes, then conceded. "Okay, I guess you can have her, Sir Wilkes," she said. "Thanks for playing!"

"My pleasure!" was his reply, and he straightened up, once more the consummate businessman. Then he touched his hat and bowed slightly to Nanny. "My Lady...?"

"Aowww, Sir Wilkes!" she gasped again at the appellation and got to her feet. She would have said more, but Eloise started bouncing up and down.

"Nanny, you have to give Sir Wilkes something to tie around his arm... the way the ladies all did in the old movies when the knights fought for their hands when they were wooing! A ribbon, or something!" the little girl cried out excitedly. "No, some of this tinsel! Here, Nanny..." Eloise unwound the red and gold tinsel that had been draped around Nanny and thrust it into her 'mostly companion's' hands. "Tie the end of this around his arm, then cut off the long end. That'll work, won't it? Then, whenever he sees it today, he'll think of you!" She beamed at the other three in the room.

For a moment, the adults remained frozen. After an awkward moment of silence, Nanny muttered, her face flushing slightly, "I'm sorry, Sir Wilkes..."

"Er ... sorry? Does that mean I'm not going to get my favour?" He looked a little crestfallen. "And I was willing to fight for you, too!"

Nanny's smile was crooked. "With an umbrella? Against a candy cane? 'Ow very daring of you, for sure, sure, sure!"

He drew closer and his voice dropped, sounding husky as he murmured, "I'd even brave real swords for your favour, Nanny..."

"Here's the scissors, Nanny!" Eloise popped up between them. "Tie the tinsel on him!" she ordered.

Nanny obeyed numbly, but her fingers were shaking slightly. What had come over her? Aoww, she needed her coffee, for Lord's sake!

Eloise snipped off the tinsel, then Bill cleared his throat. "I'd best be getting on. I'll see you at four, Eloise!"

"I'm helping Bill get ready for a party later," Eloise informed Sir Wilkes, importantly.

"Er, yes. Quite. Quite. Well, alas, I must sally forth to see if there are any other fair damsels to rescue or perhaps a dragon or two to slay..." He lifted his hat and bowed to the little girl who beamed back at him, then bowed to Nanny whose confused eyes couldn't quite meet his, then he regretfully departed.

Nanny had been looking forward to going Christmas shopping with Eloise, and had arranged with Maggie to take them around the stores as a special surprise for the child. However, at the breakfast table that day, Eloise asked Nanny what she planned to get Sir Wilkes for Christmas, since it was obvious that he would be getting HER something 'très extraordinaire'. That put Nanny into a real dither, as it had never occurred to her that she would be expected to come up with a 'perfect' gift for the man who generally played a far more important role in her dreams than he did in real life. Suddenly her enthusiasm for Shopping Day was dampened, and she knew that until she thought of something to give Sir Wilkes, she would be unable to concentrate completely on anything else.

O o O o O o

When Wilkes encountered Eloise dressed in her outdoor clothes at the elevator one morning a few days later, he smiled at her, asking where she was off to so early in the morning.

"Nanny and I are going Christmas shopping," Eloise announced. "She can't wait another minute to get your present!" Then she leaned forward and said meaningfully, "She won't tell me what it is, but I have a feeling it's rawther divine!"

A feeling of dread settled in the pit of Wilkes' stomach. Before Eloise could run away, he quickly asked, "Oh, uh, tell me, did Nanny happen to mention anything SHE might enjoy being given?" Unfortunately, before he had received an answer, the elevator arrived and Eloise was gone.

Suddenly it felt as if the weight of the world had descended on Wilkes. Nanny was getting him a Christmas present? A 'rawther divine' one, according to Eloise? Oh, dear. What in the world could he possibly get HER? And in only a few days, too! Well, there was nothing for it. He would have to go out shopping IMMEDIATELY.

The following afternoon, after searching over half of New York, some hairpins in a shop window caught his eye and when he asked about them, he was delighted to hear that they were Ming Dynasty. That would surely impress Nanny and would be useful at the same time. Still, before buying them, he thought he should check with Eloise. He had been invited over to watch a Christmas movie that night.

Never had watching a movie been so excruciatingly painful as that night. Both Nanny and Wilkes were on edge as neither had managed to find a present for the other. Eloise was busy doing something in her bedroom, so the two adults sat on either end of the sofa and pretended to be engrossed in the television show. Nanny was more silent than usual as she was finding it difficult to look at Sir Wilkes without imagining him in the long underwear she had been eying on and off in the catalogue thanks to Eloise's offhand comment the other morning at breakfast.

At last Wilkes couldn't stand the silence anymore. Carefully not looking at Nanny, he said, "Magnificent rendition... don't you think?"

Their stilted conversation ended abruptly when Nanny dazedly poured her wine on her blouse. Wilkes instinctively reached out to help pat her blouse dry with his handkerchief but Nanny, mortified at her clumsiness, yelped and pushed him away before escaping to her room. As Wilkes sat helplessly on the edge of his seat holding both wine glasses, Eloise came through the living room.

"Eloise, could I get your opinion on something?" he asked quickly, checking to make sure Nanny was not within earshot. Eloise sighed and sat beside him. He hurried on. "It's about Nanny's Christmas present. I passed a shop this afternoon... they had the most magnificent Chinese hairpins. I was told they were Ming Dynasty." He was about to add more, but Eloise was already getting up, a bored expression on her face.

"Nanny already has LOADS of hairpins," she informed him, then walked away.

"Oh, does she?" he said, almost to himself, quite disappointed. He pondered the question of what he could give Nanny once more, then his mind wandered to the look on her face when he was talking about the one idea that seemed more lovely than the rest for a certain person. He could have sworn that his words had caused her to spill her wine. He clenched his hand that was still holding her glass and his handkerchief, and wondered what he would have done had she allowed him to help her. She had spilt the wine on her chest... he would have touched her breast... his face flushed. No wonder she had been so perturbed with him! How incredibly crass he had been! He sighed. How delightful it would have been, though... then his face felt as if it were on fire. It was a very good thing indeed that no one could read his thoughts! He tried to concentrate on the movie and forget about his lustful thoughts with regard to Nanny.

For her part, as she scolded herself while wiping off the wine frantically, Nanny, too, was thinking about what it would have felt like had she allowed Sir Wilkes to assist her in drying her blouse. His fingers cupping her breast... "Aoww, honestly, Nanny!" she muttered and scrubbed at her blouse harder, horrified anew at her thoughts. Then Eloise was there and asking about wooing... and Nanny, after a quick glance out to the living room at Sir Wilkes, lapsed into a vague sort of daydream wherein he brought her dozens of long-stemmed red roses as proof of his regard for her. Suddenly a loud noise from a commercial on the television brought her out of her reverie, and she gave one final swipe to the blouse then took a firm hold of her emotions and made her way back out to join Sir Wilkes.

The moment the movie was over, Wilkes made some excuses and hurried out the door. He had a lot of reflecting to do if he were going to come up with another idea for Nanny's Christmas present!

O o O o O o


	2. Chapter 2

Late the following afternoon, Wilkes came back from his search of the jewellery stores in New York City, tremendously pleased with himself for finding a gift for Nanny. As he passed her suite, he noticed the doors partially open and overheard Eloise saying how absolutely thrilled she was that they were going to decorate their tree after their evening meal. Wilkes, continuing on to his own suite, decided he would go over about 7:30 and ask if he could borrow Eloise for a moment, just to get her opinion on his purchase. That should surely give the two enough time to finish decorating. In the meantime, he would leave his own door open a crack and listen to make sure they didn't go out anywhere.

Only an hour later, he began to smile as he heard the record player starting up in the other suite, Nanny's voice raised in song as she sang along raucously with the Christmas carols while Eloise's shrill treble joined in. The two were obviously having a lot of fun. Somewhat dissatisfied, he looked around his own suite and wished he had someone to decorate the place with... or for....

He heard Eloise's excited cry that it was snowing, then realized that the next sound he was hearing was the child's running footsteps. He heard Nanny cry out, "Don't slam the..." and heard the loud bang as their door slammed shut. Quickly Wilkes jumped to his feet and got to his door in time to call to Eloise as she ran for the elevator.

She ran back to see him, obviously in a hurry, so he said quickly as he opened the small box, "I think I've found it! Tahitian. Quite rare." He beamed at Eloise, waiting for her approval. He personally thought the earrings were exquisite, and would suit Nanny perfectly.

"Nanny detests pearls," Eloise said simply, and turned and ran off again.

Wilkes snapped the little jewellery box shut. Were he a man prone to swearing, this would have been a good time to do so! He stuffed the box into his trouser pocket and started after Eloise, hoping to catch her before she got on the elevator. As he passed her suite, however, he heard the elevator bell, then Eloise's cheerful, "Second floor, please, Max!"

Stopping, he turned to go back when he heard Nanny grumbling in her suite and some banging and a loud, "AOWWW! Oh, KNICKERS!"

Tapping on the door, Wilkes waited. There was silence for a moment, then a red-faced, breathless Nanny, a gold tinsel garland trailing over her shoulders, the ends of a green garland in one hand and a candle in the other, opened the door to the dark suite.

"Sir Wilkes!" she gasped, then began to babble. "I'm so, so, so sorry. When Eloise slammed the door, the fuses were blown, and the garlands all fell and it was dark, dark, dark! I was going to change the fuses, but..."

"Perhaps I might be of some assistance?" he offered, and Nanny smiled gratefully.

"That would be absolutely divine, as Eloise would say!"

"Er, where IS your fuse box... and do you have extra fuses?"

Nanny dropped the greenery on the floor, rummaged in a drawer for the fuses and led the way with the candle into the utility room where the fuse box could be found. She held the candle as Wilkes squinted at the fuses, trying to see which ones were burnt out. As he unscrewed the first one, Nanny eyed the back of his head and chewed on her lip reflectively, trying to decide whether or not to offer him some eggnog.

Once the lights were back on, Nanny blew out the candle and smiled timidly at Sir Wilkes. "Would you care for some eggnog, Sir Wilkes?"

"I'd be delighted to have some," he replied readily. "Then we can re-hang your garland."

Nanny dipped him a cup of eggnog from the punchbowl on the table, then re-filled her own cup. Wilkes took a gulp and coughed a little at the unexpected strength of the rum in the eggnog.

"Drink up," Nanny urged. "There is rawther a lot here for one person!"

"So I see ..." Wilkes managed to say, and he cautiously took a small sip. "It's delicious," he added truthfully.

"Oh yes, quite. Quite," agreed Nanny.

"Perhaps we should put up the garlands?" Wilkes suggested, thinking that if he had much more eggnog, he wouldn't be steady enough on his feet to climb up the ladder.

"Aoww, yes, we should." Nanny hurried to get the ladder, but Wilkes beat her to it, and carried it over to the doorway where one garland had hung.

Nanny stopped at the record player and started the music again, saying to Wilkes, "I find that the music helps with the decorating!"

"I heard you singing with it before ..." he offered with a faint smile.

Nanny flushed, but a shy smile crossed her face, too. "I DO like singing," she admitted. "Especially Christmas songs."

"Be my guest ..." he waved. "Please, sing..."

"Only if you do ..." she almost dared him.

Somewhat surprising himself, Wilkes began to sing with her... songs he had almost forgotten but which came back to him quickly. _"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! 'Tis the season to be jolly, Fa...."_ As they both sang loudly, they got the front door garland hung back up and firmly fastened so that it wouldn't fall again. Nanny poured them both another eggnog, and danced over to the window as she sang, waving the ends of the gold tinsel garland which still hung over her shoulders. _"Don we now our gay apparel, Fa..."_ She shimmied her hips and dusted her bottom with the tinsel garland.

After his second cup of eggnog, Wilkes was seriously and with great relish considering what Nanny's dancing with the tinsel garland would look like if she were not wearing clothes. Catching her inquiring glance back at him, he blushed vividly and dropped his eyes, then hurriedly moved the ladder over to the window and fastened the garland over the window valance more securely. After the third cup of eggnog, he was plotting ways to catch Nanny under the mistletoe while they were re-hanging the garland over Eloise's bedroom door, but couldn't quite work up his courage.

Once the greenery had been re-fastened, together they put the final ornaments on the tree. Nanny tossed a handful of the silvery icicles onto the tree, gesturing to Wilkes to do the same and somewhat awkwardly, he did, blinking to try to clear his vision which seemed to blur often. Then, after the fourth cup of eggnog, Wilkes stepped up to Nanny, intent on kissing her with or without the mistletoe, but he found the floor was tilting alarmingly.

"Oh my stars, stars, stars, Sir Wilkes!" Nanny surveyed him incredulously. "You really ought to loosen up a bit! Roll up your shirtsleeves, for Lord's sake! And the tie..." she frowned. Dropping the ends of the tinsel garland she was still wearing like a shawl, she reached for his tie and tugged at it, working at the knot to loosen it.

He caught her hands and held them still, smiling faintly at her concentration on the offending apparel. She froze at his touch, and her eyes flew to his. They stared at each other silently for what seemed an eternity while Wilkes tried to get his mind and body to function together in spite of the alcohol-induced fog he was in. Finally he swayed a little unsteadily and pulled her closer to him, their bodies meeting and heating instantly. With a gasp, Nanny tugged her hands away.

"Thank you, Sir Wilkes, for helping me with the fuses and the garlands..." She caught his arm and tugged him to the door, "but I really have too, too, TOO much to do tonight to entertain anyone, for Lord's sake!" With that, she pushed him out the door and closed it firmly behind him.

Wilkes stood by the door for a moment, a little stunned at the rapidity of his ejection from the room. Then he sighed. Obviously he had done something wrong... as usual. It was all that eggnog he had downed! Weaving dangerously, he managed to find his way back to his own suite where he lay down and immediately fell asleep. The next morning he was nursing a hangover and was quite grumpy because he STILL had no idea what to get Nanny for Christmas, although he was half-seriously debating purchasing a microphone and an amplifier! Doubtless she could be a performer on Broadway with a little coaching!

O o O o O o

Christmas Eve afternoon, Wilkes was dispiritedly stepping into the lobby of the Plaza Hotel. He had had no luck whatsoever in finding a gift for Nanny. He supposed he could still give her the earrings, even though they WERE pearls... and tell her he would have the pearls replaced with sapphires to match her eyes. At any rate, he was MOST dejected.

Suddenly he heard a commotion from the elevator, and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Nanny pushing her way through people and packages, sending boxes and people and glasses flying as she yelled "Out of my way, for Lord's sake!"

Had something happened to Eloise? Wilkes hurried after the fast-disappearing woman, only to stand undecided and feeling a little lost in the stairwell. Had she gone up or down? Hearing some more banging and excited voices from below, he hurried down the stairs, arriving breathless at the bottom. He could hear Eloise urging Nanny to hurry but by the time he had tracked them down, Nanny was just at the top of a stair-like ladder in full pursuit of the child, and Wilkes had no breath to call after them.

Labouriously he climbed the ladder, then hurried back through the lobby and up the other stairs, after hearing someone talk about the crazy woman chasing a child up to the wedding. There Wilkes found himself face to face with Miss Stickler who said the Peabody/Oliver wedding had just started, and no, she had NOT seen that annoying child OR her obviously incompetent, pathetic excuse for a nanny.

Opening his mouth to berate the woman for daring to impugn his lady's honour, Wilkes stopped, briefly aghast at his own thoughts. HIS lady? How had Nanny snuck so securely into that secret place in his heart where no one had ever ventured nor been invited before? However it had come about, it seemed so right. He desperately wanted Nanny to be HIS lady. HIS... to have and to hold, from this day forth; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health... HIS... to love and to cherish, forever more... HIS lady! He grimaced inwardly. The thought of the wedding happening right at the moment behind the closed doors was obviously affecting him!

At that moment, Bill ran past Wilkes and Miss Stickler, completely ignoring her belated low cries to stop. He crashed through the doors and Wilkes, unable to resist, stepped to the doorway as Miss Stickler hurried after the young man. From his vantage point, Wilkes saw that Miss Peabody had stepped away from Mr. Oliver and he also saw how her face lit up when she saw Bill. When Miss Peabody left Mr. Oliver at the front, hurried down to Bill and kissed him, Wilkes heard Eloise's giggle coming from somewhere above. Miss Stickler heard as well, and she turned abruptly and looked up. Then Wilkes recognized Nanny's faint "Oh!" and realized that Nanny and Eloise must be up somewhere in the ceiling vents.

Knowing that what was happening around the aborted wedding was none of his business, Wilkes slipped out and around the corner where he found the door of a utility room partially open. Inside, a ladder up to the vents told him he had most likely found the path Nanny and Eloise had taken. A second look at the ladder made him shake his head and decide that he could very well wait at the bottom until they appeared, which they did a short time later.

Nanny crawled down first, helping Eloise, and neither one noticed the man standing silently at the bottom until he reached out to assist Nanny down the last step. She yelped and almost fell, her surprise was so great when she felt his hand on her elbow.

"Oh, my LORD, Sir Wilkes!" she gasped, holding her hand over her racing heart.

"I DO apologize, Nanny," he said hurriedly. "I just wanted to make sure that you were all right!"

"Aoww ..." Embarrassed, Nanny ducked her head and busied herself helping Eloise down the last few rungs.

"Sir Wilkes, did you SEE? Rachel didn't marry that horrible Brooks after all!" Eloise cried delightedly. "Isn't that just absolutely divine?"

"Not for Mr. Oliver, I should think," was Wilkes' dry comment.

"Oh, but Rachel loves BILL, and he loves HER!" Eloise protested. "They've loved each other for YEARS! It's just so ROMANTIC!"

"Well, that's enough of that, Eloise," Nanny interrupted what could have been a long discourse on love. "I DO think we should move, move, MOVE!"

"Yes, if that pill, Prunella, catches us here, we'll be in BIG trouble!" Eloise grinned.

"I'm sure we're safe here, actually," Wilkes offered hesitantly. "I should think there might be a crowd in the lobby and just outside the Versailles Room."

"I didn't think of that. I suspect you're absolutely right, Sir Wilkes! Besides, we might see Bill and Rachel after all those other people have left!" Eloise grinned. Then she sobered. "Did you know, Sir Wilkes, that Mrs. Thornton has to leave the Plaza? Isn't that the most tragical thing you have ever heard? I mean, just because she has no money... Nanny says she'll maybe find a better place, but I can't see how, because isn't the Plaza absolutely the most wonderful place in the whole WORLD?"

"Oh yes, yes, quite so," Wilkes agreed, not daring to look at Nanny. He HAD heard that Mrs. Thornton was leaving, of course, since they all had suites on the top floor, but he hadn't heard the circumstances surrounding her move.

"Do you know, Sir Wilkes? Mrs. Thornton's dog, Mona, doesn't like Skipperdee!"

"Skipperdee?"

"Oh my Lord, don't you remember? Skipperdee is my turtle!" Eloise cried. "Oh, Sir Wilkes, you MUST meet him! I have to braid his ears every morning first thing, you know!"

"His ears?" Wilkes was trying to follow the conversation, but as usual was having a rather difficult time.

"What are you doing for Christmas, Sir Wilkes?" Eloise asked suddenly.

Nanny jerked involuntarily, and when he looked at her quickly, she glanced away, her face flushing slightly.

"Why?" he asked Eloise cautiously. Then he stammered, "I... I don't have many... plans, you know... my family is in England..."

"NO one should be alone on Christmas, Sir Wilkes, so you can come to our place for Christmas dinner!" Eloise beamed.

"That's ... very nice of you, Eloise. Nanny?" Thus appealed to directly, Nanny smiled shyly at him, and he felt as if a weight were lifted off his chest. "Thank you, Eloise," he said, looking at the little girl again. "I'd be delighted to join you."

"We can open our presents after we eat!" Eloise beamed. "I always want to open them early, but Nanny and Maman make me wait!"

At the mention of presents, both Wilkes' and Nanny's faces changed. Wilkes almost winced. He had pushed the quandary of what to give Nanny to the back of his mind during the last hectic hour, but now his anxiety rushed over him again. What on EARTH was he going to do... at this late date? Nanny, too, was cringing inwardly. Oh, KNICKERS! Because Eloise had vetoed every single suggestion she had made for a gift for Sir Wilkes, she still had NOTHING to give the man! How could she not have remembered that before allowing Eloise to invite him? Not that she had had any warning or even had been asked, for Lord's sake!

Meanwhile, Eloise had been peeking out of the utility room, and she announced that the coast was clear. "We had better skitter, Nanny! Ta ta, Sir Wilkes!"

"Ta ta," he replied absently, still pondering the gift dilemma.

After they had gone and he was no further ahead in ideas for Nanny's gift, he stepped out of the utility room and decided that even if he could do nothing about a gift for Nanny, he COULD do something about Mrs. Thornton. Taking the elevator up to Mr. Peabody's private suite, he knocked on the door and entered when bidden.

Mr. Peabody, still reeling from the fiasco of the aborted wedding downstairs, was very glad to see him, since his daughter and Bill were currently snuggling on the couch and talking in low voices. "Come in, come in, Sir Wilkes!" he cried. "I'm delighted to have another man here to talk with! Have a drink?"

"Thank you," Wilkes replied, and accepted the glass Mr. Peabody handed him. "I'd like to speak to you with regards to, er, Mrs. Thornton. Eloise said that..."

"Eloise! She's a dear child, but what am I to do? I tried to explain to her that running a hotel is a matter of BUSINESS, not charity!"

"Yes, yes, quite. Quite. What I wanted to do was offer to pay for Mrs. Thornton's suite... but I'd rather do it so that no one finds out about it. Would that be possible?"

Bill, who had obviously been listening from the couch, piped up, "If someone from the Bavarian government were to come through with money from her son, she'd never question THAT!"

Wilkes considered that suggestion, and he and Mr. Peabody smiled delightedly. "Just the ticket!" Mr. Peabody exclaimed.

"Daddy, why don't you have Bill dress up as a prince from Bavarian? He can tell her that the government has agreed to release enough money to keep her here. Oh, Sir Wilkes, that is so wonderful of you!" Rachel's eyes were shining.

"Come for dinner tomorrow, Sir Wilkes, and we'll make plans!" Mr. Peabody suggested.

"Thank you, but I have another invitation for tomorrow," Wilkes replied.

"Why can't we plan it for tonight? Now?" Bill asked.

"Yes!" Rachel jumped up. "Oh, Daddy, we should tell Mrs. Thornton tonight. Her Christmas must be so sad right now, thinking she's going to have to leave in two days..."

"Can you stay for supper, Sir Wilkes, and we'll get the plan rolling?" asked Mr. Peabody.

"I'd be delighted!" Wilkes beamed.

O o O o O

After they finished eating, Mr. Peabody called Mr. Salomone, Miss Thompson and Prunella Stickler to meet with them in the lobby in half an hour. Then the four went to work. With the help of his stage makeup and costumes and Rachel's suggestions, Bill turned himself into a wonderful Prince of Bavaria, rehearsing both an accent and a story. They all made their way down to the lobby, where Bill took a seat in an alcove close to the doors. Mr. Peabody then arranged for the grand piano to be brought in from the other room and set near the giant Christmas tree. Rachel stepped back out of the way until Eloise arrived, as they had decided to have the child summoned first, since it was her passionate plea for justice for Mrs. Thornton which had started Mr. Peabody's thoughts along the lines of seeing what could be done to allow the older woman to remain at the Plaza. It was agreed that, in order to satisfy Prunella Stickler who had been furious that afternoon at Eloise's destruction of her wedding plans, Mr. Peabody would first question the little girl about her part in the afternoon's outcome.

Mr. Salomone and Miss Thompson arrived together, and Wilkes' eyes sharpened when he saw how they looked at each other and behaved around each other. Why, it reminded him somewhat of how he and Nanny were when they were together! He wondered briefly if the two hotel workers were a couple, then his musings were cut short when Miss Stickler arrived. That woman looked rather askance at the piano in the lobby, but a satisfied smile spread across her face when she heard that Mr. Peabody was going to summon Eloise to the lobby for questioning. Mr. Peabody made the telephone call, then, as arranged, Wilkes waited until he saw that Max's elevator was picking them up on the sixteenth floor before he stepped into the other elevator and rode up himself in order to escort Mrs. Thornton down, as Mr. Peabody telephoned her directly after speaking with Eloise.

As he was whisked up to the top floor, Wilkes found himself hoping that Nanny would indeed come down to the lobby with Eloise, and then wishing that he could be there for support, afraid that the young child would be intimidated by Mr. Peabody's questioning. Just to be sure, he tapped on Nanny's door as he passed ... then smiled when there was no sound from within. Good. She was already downstairs. Wilkes went on to Mrs. Thornton's, and she grudgingly accepted his offer to escort her downstairs. He waited patiently while she picked up her small dog and sailed down the hallway.

When the elevator arrived back in the lobby and Max opened the doors, Mrs. Thornton pushed past Wilkes and marched up to Mr. Peabody. "What is the meaning of this? I demand to know why I have been summoned down here at this ghastly hour!"

Wilkes stepped up close behind Nanny, resting his hand lightly on the small of her back. She looked around at him and smiled before turning her attention back to Mr. Peabody and Mrs. Thornton. When she realized that it was Bill playing the part of the emissary from Bavaria, Nanny's hand flew to her mouth. It was at that moment that she felt Sir Wilkes' hand slide down to rest familiarly on her 'avoirdupois'. Her eyes widened, and somehow she just KNEW the man behind her was smiling faintly at her shock. Had anyone thought to take their attention away from the drama being played out in the hotel lobby, they ALL would have noticed Sir Wilkes' palm spread in a comfortable way over Nanny's ample yet shapely behind.

"Sir WILKES!" she hissed in a undertone, stealing a glance at him.

He winked at her and his hand moved very slightly, but rawther than removing it, he slid it over her botto in a caressing motion. Nanny gulped. Then she was distracted by the drama going on as Mrs. Thornton realized that she was going to be allowed to remain at the Plaza. Wilkes leaned forward and murmured in her ear, "It appears as though Eloise has pulled it off, and given Mrs. Thornton the gift of her life. Had Eloise not be so concerned for justice for the woman, none of this would have happened!"

As they moved over to the piano with the rest of the group, Nanny nodded thoughtfully. Then she bent down to speak to Eloise, and to pass on Wilkes' comment about the gift the child had given Mrs. Thornton. "It's not the presents that come wrapped in ribbons and bows that count ... as much as the ones that come from here," she concluded, patting her chest over her heart. As she stood, looking at Wilkes intently, she added, "Isn't that right... Willy?" Taking a deep breath and realizing she did not have the nerve to kiss his lips, she pressed a kiss on his cheek.

Wilkes' eyes opened wide and for a moment he was immobile. Then Nanny was turning away and resolutely joining in singing the Christmas carol that Bill was playing. His thoughts jumbled, Wilkes tried to think of what he could say to Nanny, but nothing came to mind. Absently, he began singing with the others, then, along with Nanny, looked over towards the doors when Eloise suddenly cried out, "Mother!" and ran towards the woman just entering the Plaza.

Wilkes had been in residence at the Plaza for almost a year, yet this was the first time he had set eyes on Kay. Although struck by her elegance and beauty, it was the look in her blue eyes as they rested lovingly on the small daughter hugging her that gave Wilkes pause for a moment before being caught up in the reunion as Nanny introducing him to Kay. They all joined in singing heartily until then both Nanny and Wilkes became aware of the fact that Eloise was telling her mother how much Nanny liked Sir Wilkes, and that she, Eloise, knew it because of the way Nanny always watched him and got all flustery and breathed funny ... and that if Nanny would kiss him PROPERLY sometime, he probably would know that she loved him.

Nanny felt as though the breath was knocked out of her, as did Wilkes. Then Nanny was urgently trying to explain to the little girl that grownups didn't, well, LOVE the same way as children...

Eloise interrupted, saying, "But it's OBVIOUS you like him, Nanny! And if you kissed him PROPERLY, he would..."

Nanny flushed, but insisted that it was not the same thing at ALL! She crossed her fingers surreptitiously and insisted, "Why, I have no more interest in kissing Sir Wilkes properly than I have in kissing..." she cast around in her mind for someone totally inappropriate, and finally came up with one, "young WILLIAM there!"

"But NANNY ..." Eloise almost wailed, "I thought..."

"You've been doing entirely too much thinking, young lady!" Nanny said severely. "Sir Wilkes, I cannot apologize enough for her..."

"Tosh, tosh, tosh," He waved her words off as inconsequential. "It's Christmas. She thought she was doing you a favour... or perhaps it was me?"

Nanny grinned companionably at him, feeling truly comfortable for the first time ever in his presence. Kay and Eloise had moved over to speak with Rachel Peabody, so Nanny felt it safe to say, "It's 'ard to say with Eloise. She's unique."

"She's very remarkable."

"Hmmm ..."

After a moment, during which Eloise dragged her mother off to speak to Mr. Peabody, Wilkes spoke hesitantly to Nanny, saying, "I do find myself wondering... you DON'T want to kiss me properly? No more interest in kissing me than in kissing Bill? Miss Peabody seems VERY interested in kissing HIM. What if I initiated the embrace? Would you kiss me properly then?"

Nanny laughed heartily, thinking he was joking. "And you say that after I just shocked you by kissing YOU? I saw your face! You were upset!" She would have tried to explain her thinking, but she was afraid she would appear even more foolish than she did now.

Now more shocked than before, and very surprised at how much he cared about her feelings, Wilkes said earnestly, "I wasn't REALLY upset... the kiss just startled me!" Then he took her hands and leaned closer, daringly asking, "Would you care to go for a walk with me now... outside? In the park?"

"Now? In the SNOW?" Nanny hesitated, but he looked so eager that she finally agreed, saying, "Well, I suppose I could... but we would have to fetch our coats..."

"Yes, yes! Of course! Shall we?" Sir Wilkes indicated the elevator.

"Perhaps we should ..." Nanny smiled shyly and agreed. "I suppose Kay and Eloise will be fine, fine, fine..."

"They will indeed. After you, Nanny."

Silently they got on to the elevator and rode up to the sixteenth floor, listening to the song playing softly.

"_Has anybody seen Christmas? Anybody seen Christmas?_

_Underneath the glitter and the sequins and the bows?_

_Anybody seen Christmas? Christmas? Christmas?_

_Look closer, look deep; look closer, look deep,_

_Glitter's just the wrapping if love's the gift inside;_

_So underneath the glitter may be Christmas!_

_Has anybody seen Christmas? Anybody seen Christmas?_

_Lost among the parties and the chatter and the noise?_

_Anybody seen Christmas? Christmas? Christmas?_

_Look closer, look deep; look closer, look deep,_

_Often at a party, a stranger finds a friend;_

_So even in the parties maybe be Christmas!_

_Has anybody seen Christmas? Anybody seen Christmas?_

_In the hurry and the rush, in the crowds and being tired?_

_Anybody seen Christmas? Christmas? Christmas?_

_Look closer, look deep; look closer, look deep,_

_Nothing's too much trouble when gifts are given in love;_

_In the hurry and the rush, in the crowds and being tired,_

_In all the time and trouble may be Christmas..._

_May be a manger..._

_May be a baby..._

_May be Love."_

They tacitly waited silently in the elevator until the song was finished, Max not moving either, even when they arrived at the sixteenth floor. When Max had closed the doors and left them alone in their hallway, Wilkes finally broke the silence. "The truth is, Nanny, I simply care about the person you are. Very much, in fact."

"You don't 'ave to say that. Yes, I kissed you... but it's Christmas..."

"You made your point. Now I'm going to make mine." He moved closer to her, his eyes on her lips.

Nanny swallowed. "Perhaps we shouldn't... it will change things..."

"Exactly." He smiled at her, his lips almost touching hers. "You know, I would have liked to, well, to kiss you... at the Debutante Ball last spring.... and... the other day…"

"All you 'ad to do was ask," Nanny smiled crookedly, her face beet red at her forwardness in admitting that truth to him.

He pointed above her head. "I'm asking now," he said, his voice suddenly thick.

She looked up to catch a brief glimpse of a hanging sprig of mistletoe, just before his lips came down on hers. Wilkes had meant the gesture to be friendly and light-hearted, but even before he had reached her mouth, he knew that it was going to be much more than that... much, much, much, as Nanny would say. He remembered what it was like to want a woman, the way need slowed the blood to a steady throb. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes was the quick rise and fall of her chest. His body swelled instantly as his arms slid around her waist and tightened.

He pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, savouring the softness of her mouth, the slight tremble that might have suggested resistance, but he didn't think so. He kissed her once, dry and hot, and then, when she breathed out a half-startled moan, he moistened his own lips and hers with his tongue and kissed her again, in earnest. It was a deep and satisfying kiss, with the entire length of her body drawn up against his as waves of sensation swept downward and settled around his groin with spectacular urgency.

Stunned by his body's reaction, Wilkes released her almost at once, stepping back as if he had been burned and expecting a slap or, at the very least, the harsh lash of her tongue. Instead, Nanny stood watching him for a long moment, her breathing altered and sounding loud in the stillness of the corridor, in counterpoint to his. Then, to his astonishment, she said softly, "Thank you," before her eyes skittered down to the floor.

Wilkes took a long, calming breath, wondering whether the sudden surge of lust he had experienced had affected his hearing. "Thank you?" he questioned feebly.

Nanny raised her gaze to his again, looking a little defensive now. "It... the kiss... completes my fantasy. I've always wanted to feel beautiful and desirable for at least one night... and... now... I do." She sounded wistful, as if the moment was already a memory to tuck away and cherish.

Wilkes experienced the sudden, insane desire to tear off her clothes and his and love her all night long, not only to fulfill her fantasy properly, but also to show her just how desirable she WAS to him. He was saved from behaving in such a scandalous, improper manner by the elevator bell.

Kay and Eloise came out of the elevator talking, Eloise telling her mother about the afternoon run through the hotel and how Nanny had said she wanted a raise. They looked at Wilkes and Nanny standing in the hallway, and Kay's eyes raised briefly to the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling before returning to meet Wilkes'.

He blushed a little and stammered that he and Nanny had been talking about going for a walk.

"NOW? It's dark! It's snowing!" Eloise eyed him suspiciously.

Nanny, however, merely said, "Yes, now," and went into the suite to fetch her boots, hat and coat.

Wilkes hurried down the hall to his room for his overcoat and hat. When he came back, Eloise was still in the hallway arguing against the outing, but Nanny and Kay both said she could now have time alone with her mother.

"Just a SHORT time, pet!" Nanny assured her as Wilkes drew closer to the group.

"And I believe I already fought you for her hand, you pirate!" Wilkes said daringly to Eloise, who smiled reluctantly at that.

"Well ... all right ..." Eloise's eyes continued to follow them closely as they waited side by side for the elevator, not touching and not daring to look at one another.

They walked outside circumspectly, and, standing at the edge of the street waiting to cross to the park, Wilkes held out his arm for Nanny to take. When she slipped her hand under his elbow, he patted it with his other hand, then left his hand over hers as they walked across the street and into the park.

Knowing first hand how Eloise was more than likely looking out the window watching them, Nanny steered them towards a pathway which would take them to the other side of some of the evergreen trees where they would no longer be in sight. As they walked, Nanny finally broke the silence, somewhat apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Sir Wilkes, but I... I didn't get you anything for Christmas. I tried to find something, after Eloise told me you..."

"Tosh, tosh, tosh," He waved off her words as inconsequential, and tightened his grasp on her hand. "Remember what you said I gave YOU? Upstairs? Before Eloise and Kay arrived?"

Nanny swallowed. Was he referring to her silly comment about feeling desirable for once in her life? "You mean, about... feeling...?"

"Desirable. Wanted. Loved. Cherished. Nanny, don't you know that you have given that feeling to me ever since we first met? It took Eloise to make me begin to see it... and your kiss under the tree to make me realize that it was true, this attraction between us..." Stopping in his tracks, he released her arm and took her face between his hands.

Nanny felt her body jump to life and she desperately hoped he would kiss her again. He bent closer, his gaze shifting to her mouth, and her mind screamed for him to hurry as the heat inside her steamed out of control. Her gaze ran over his face then locked on his eyes. He LOOKED as though he was adoring her, wanting her, and suddenly Nanny felt powerless. "Willy..." she breathed, disbelieving the evidence of her eyes.

Finally his mouth touched hers, gently and tenderly at first, but the fire in her wouldn't be patient. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck as she pressed closer to him. His kiss turned hungry, savage and crazed with want. Nanny clung to him. Never in her life nor even in her dreams had she felt such passion from a man. He was sensual, reserved, gentle... and powerfully passionate. He whispered her name over and over, his lips seeking hers again and again until her insides melted and puddled, leaving her with nothing but her love for him.

At last he murmured against her lips, "I have wanted to do that for months now..."

Before Nanny could answer, they swayed a little into the branches under which they were sheltering, and suddenly a load of newly fallen snow dropped on their heads, sending them sputtering and laughing apart. "Perhaps we should return..." she said, trying to scrape the snow out of her collar before much more slid down her neck.

"Yes, perhaps we should," Wilkes sighed. "I DO find myself wondering if the snow down the back of the neck was a sign that I needed to be cooled off..."

"I certainly did, for sure, sure, sure..." admitted Nanny, her cheeks tinged with pink.

"Come, Nanny ..." Again he held out his arm, and together they made their way back to the Plaza.

Once they reached the front doors, Nanny automatically began to pull away from him, assuming he wouldn't want to be seen arm-and-arm with her in such a public place, but his grip on her hand tightened as he looked at her in surprise.

"What is the matter, Nanny?" he asked, puzzled by her actions.

"Aoww, nothing ... I just ..." Her face suffused with colour, she wasn't sure where to look.

Charlie, who had just come on duty, grinned at them both and tipped his hat. "Merry Christmas, Nanny! Sir Wilkes! Looks like you're having a good one!"

"Well, we are making the attempt. Merry Christmas to you," Wilkes replied. He steered Nanny through the doors and into the lobby. "Why are you trying to get away from me all of a sudden?" he asked her in a whisper. "Am I holding you too tightly? Walking too fast?"

"Aoww, no, Sir Wilkes ... I just ..."

"Sir Wilkes?" Miss Thompson hurried up to them at that moment. "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you on Christmas Eve... Eloise told me you were out but should be back soon and I was hoping you would be. You have an urgent message from your sister in England. I'm afraid she is asking you to return home immediately."

"On Christmas Day?" Wilkes asked incredulously, wondering what on earth Priscilla was worried about NOW!

"She was hoping you would fly out tonight. She said she has booked you on the 11:30 flight, which gives you an hour and a half to get to the airport."

Nanny had managed to extricate herself while Wilkes was pre-occupied and now was standing a step back. Miss Thompson looked over at her sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Nanny... Sir Wilkes, you are to call Lady Bentley immediately. You may use the telephone in Mr. Salamone's office."

"Yes, I suppose I should ..." Wilkes looked a little dazed. "Er... Nanny?"

"Go ahead, Sir Wilkes. Eloise will be waiting for me anyway... I'll just run upstairs myself."

Before he could stop her, she was gone. Taking a deep breath as he tried to distance himself from thoughts of Nanny and bring to mind his loved ones in England, Wilkes followed Miss Thompson to Mr. Salomone's empty office.

O o O o O o


	3. Chapter 3

Just ten minutes later, Wilkes was passing Nanny's suite on his way to throw some necessities into a suitcase for his trip overseas. He hesitated for a moment, then carried on to his own room first. Upon his return, he set his case down by the door of the suite and knocked. Eloise answered immediately, but Nanny gently and implacably moved the child out of the way, stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind herself to give them both some privacy.

"Bad news, Sir Wilkes?" she asked softly, gazing at him from shimmering blue eyes.

He noted in passing that her lips were full and trembling, which made him want to kiss her again. Instead, he managed to stammer, "My sister ... my brother-in-law had a stroke... this afternoon... she needs me... they don't expect him to live much longer... I have to go to them..."

Nanny placed her hands on the sides of his face and spoke so softly he barely heard the words. "Willy, I'm so, so, so sorry. Yes, you must go..."

"Nanny, I ..." he began, but choked and couldn't continue.

Without saying another word, Nanny smiled and traced his bottom lip with her index finger. Then she drew closer and pressed her lips to his, lingering there, moist, gentle and giving without restraint. He moved his mouth over hers, their mouths blending in a desperate need to satisfy an unquenchable emotional thirst, their yearning spiraled into mindless hunger for what they had too long denied and they kissed each other with a passion that rocked them both with its intensity. She pressed closer to him and moaned, leaving no doubt in his mind that she shared his passion equally. Then, as if they both knew that this was not the time nor the place to fulfill their desires, they slowly parted.

"I wish you could come with me ..." he murmured.

Her body longed for this man, as it had since she had first met him. When Nanny drew away, her smile returned, albeit more wobbly. "If only things were different..." she sighed, stepped away from him.

"I'll be back ... as soon as possible..." he said huskily. "I'll... I'll be in touch... I promise I will write to you..."

"If I don't hear from you, I will understand," Nanny said softly, still disbelieving that he could feel as strongly as he appeared to. Surely, once he returned to England and his family, he would forget the less-than-spectacular nanny he had kissed one evening in New York City!

The elevator bell dinged as the lift arrived to take Wilkes down to the lobby and to the taxi that was waiting to whisk him off to the airport. With a final bow, a quiet "Merry Christmas, Nanny," and a long look, Wilkes turned and was gone.

"Merry Christmas ... Willy," Nanny whispered, wondering if she would ever see him again.

O o O o O o

During the long flight overseas, Wilkes thought about Nanny, and finally decided that he simply MUST write her a letter which she would get by the end of the week. The stewardess brought him some plain white paper, an envelope and a pen, and he began to write, telling Nanny of his love for her, and asking that she reply by letter as soon as possible, preferably to say 'yes' she would be his lady, but at any rate to reply even if it was to say merely 'perhaps'...

He added on the bottom of the letter that if he heard nothing from her, he would assume that she was not interested in him in that way and he would not bother her again. Then he bought a stamp for the letter at the nearest post office on his way from the airport and handed the important letter to the postal clerk, paying for it to go airmail after ascertaining that it should be in New York City within the week, and a response back to England within another week.

After Wilkes left the post office counter, a woman with several large and some smaller packages came into the building. She fumbled with the packages, dropping a number of them on the floor as well as the counter. The postal clerk dropped the letter she was holding in order to help the woman. In the commotion with the parcels, the letter was pushed closer and closer to the edge of the filing cabinet used as the counter for the mail. Finally, unnoticed, Wilkes' letter to Nanny slipped down between the filing cabinet and the wall.

O o O o O o

Since Sir Wilkes had promised to write, Nanny began checking with Miss Thompson for new mail after about three days ... but after two weeks was too embarrassed to ask any more. Again she felt as if her heart was broken, and again she swallowed her pain and struggled to go on as she had before. It was as she had suspected – her 'charm' was nothing in comparison to what he doubtless could find in England. She HAD resolved on Christmas Day not to be so shy around Wilkes when he returned... after all, she was no blushing young virgin and he obviously liked her a great deal if his kisses on Christmas Eve were any indication!! However, he never wrote, never telephoned... at last, by the middle of January, Nanny was forced to assume that he was no longer interested in her. Accordingly, she tried hard to forget him... Yet even when she was supposed to be helping clean Eloise's room, Nanny would sit on the bed, her chin on her hand, and dream about Wilkes.

January trudged by, and a weary February was drawing to a close when Eloise came down with a particularly virulent strain of the flu. When called, the doctor recommended that she stay secluded in the suite with Nanny nursing her, as moving her to a hospital could possibly endanger her further. Eloise's fever rose sharply and she became delirious. Nanny was terribly worried, although the doctor continued saying that children have a remarkable resilience to illnesses. Eloise was still critically ill when Nanny heard via Bill that Sir Wilkes was back at the Plaza, but Nanny had no time to even think about him let alone contact him.

The day after he returned to New York City, Wilkes debated long and hard before penning a short get well card to Eloise. Having heard nothing from Nanny over the weeks he was away, he had come to the conclusion that she had no interest in him romantically... or at least, no interest in MARRYING him. It had cost him a lot in lost sleep and the stress of worrying before he had been able to force himself to return to the United States. He was embarrassed that he had been so eager with Nanny and had so completely mis-read her response.

When he had diffidently inquired about Eloise at the front desk upon his return, Wilkes had been shocked to hear about the child's illness. Putting his own headache and extreme tiredness down to jetlag and the continued misery of having been spurned by the woman he loved, Wilkes finally wrote a quick message on a card and put it in the mail tray on the front desk when he returned from the office that first day.

To his surprise, the following morning he had an envelope waiting for him downstairs. Nanny had replied, saying that Eloise was still much too ill to look at her cards, but thanking him for it and assuring him that the child would be happy to see it when she was on the mend. She had said nothing about how she was feeling herself, nor anything personal about Wilkes. He rubbed his temples, then shrugged and sat down to write a return note. This time he asked Nanny to keep him informed as to Eloise's progress and added that if there was anything at all he could do for either one of them, she had only to ask.

That evening, as he staggered back into the Plaza, trying to see through a now-blinding headache, Wilkes accepted the note from Nanny that Miss Thompson handed him, but he was feeling much too ill to even read it. He made it to his own suite and collapsed on the bed.

O o O o O o

While sweeping the floor in the post office in England, the clerk was surprised to find the corner of an envelope sticking out from between the filing cabinet and the wall. She worked away at it and finally retrieved the letter that should have been mailed two months previously. At long last, Wilkes' letter to Nanny was sent on its way to New York City.

O o O o O o

A few nights later, a bleary-eyed Nanny answered the door and found Bill there with another pitcher of juice for Eloise.

"How is she?" Bill asked, moving over to the table, setting the pitcher down and glancing into the little girl's room.

"Better, I think, William," Nanny sighed. "She has slept most of the day, and her temperature is down. The doctor said the best thing now is for her to sleep, sleep, sleep! I think that applies to BOTH of us," and she smiled weakly.

Bill put his arm around her. "You're looking after Eloise beautifully, and you deserve a rest if anyone does! I thought you said her mother was coming back?"

Nanny gratefully leaned against him, just for a short time. "Not for a couple more days. She was hoping to see some people... and once the doctor said Eloise was out of danger, well, it didn't seem necessary to drag her back early..."

Squeezing her shoulders, Bill said, "Well, Nanny, I know it's a real imposition... but, well, you may have heard that almost everyone in the Plaza is now sick with the same virus Eloise had. We're really short-staffed. I was wondering if you could possibly run over tonight to check on Sir Wilkes – he's had no one to do that for him. I took him some juice this morning, but he needs some more... and I promised Miss Thompson I'd check in on Mrs. Thornton ... and some of the guests on the eighth floor who are ill... I know it's an imposition, but I thought that, well, you probably haven't seen him since his return, and you are good friends..."

Nanny felt frozen ... Sir Wilkes was sick? Oh my Lord! Could this be why she hadn't received an answer to her note of two days ago? And Bill thought she was FRIENDS with him? Oh, my stars, stars, stars.... At last she forced herself to say, "Of course I can take him the juice. Shall I check on Mrs. Thornton too?"

"Would you?" Bill looked grateful. He took two more pitchers of juice off his cart. "Thank you SO much, Nanny! I expect both are sleeping... just put the pitcher on the table by their bed and leave the empty one outside their door. Thank you ever so much!"

"Aoww ..." Nanny nodded and, holding one pitcher, followed him to the door. "I'll just run this in to Mrs. Thornton first... I don't need a key, do I?"

"No. We're leaving the doors open -- makes it easier for the three of us left running this place to get around! Thanks again, Nanny! You're absolutely wonderful!" and he kissed her cheek before pushing his cart rapidly in the direction of the elevator.

Nanny checked the sleeping Eloise then carried one pitcher over to Mrs. Thornton's suite. She knocked on the door softly and opened it... and was met by a growling but otherwise non-threatening Mona who allowed her to creep into the bedroom and replace the empty pitcher by the bed with the full one without awakening the sleeping Mrs. Thornton. When she got back to her own suite, Nanny took a deep breath. Well, one down. That was easy enough. Now if only Sir Wilkes was asleep as well...

Tightening the sash of her robe, and only wondering briefly if she should dress before heading down the hallway, Nanny looked in on Eloise once more, lightly kissing the small girl's flushed cheek as she automatically tested the temperature of her skin. Yes, Eloise's fever was definitely receding! Then Nanny let herself out of her apartment with the full pitcher of juice and resolutely walked down the hallway. She hesitated for a moment, then tapped lightly on the door of Sir Wilkes' suite before turning the knob and pushing it open. She had taken only about three steps into the suite before hearing a crash from the bedroom and a groan.

Hastily depositing the pitcher of juice on the nearest flat surface, Nanny rushed for the bedroom, then stopped abruptly upon seeing Sir Wilkes trying to crawl to his feet from the floor where he had fallen just outside the doorway. Nanny's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she took in the expanse of bare skin... he was only wearing the bottoms of his pyjamas. She stood immobile as tingling ran over her entire body, then unconsciously she licked her lips. He looked mighty fine... Then Sir Wilkes groaned again, his head hanging down as if the effort of being on his hands and knees was too much.

Nanny snapped out of her trance and approached him timidly. "Sir Wilkes?" she almost whispered. "Sir Wilkes, you should be in bed!"

Another moan escaped his lips. She bent down and her hands went out to him, then she pulled back. She couldn't help him up! That would mean touching his naked torso! His face and neck were a fiery red, and she recognized the signs of fever in the sheen of moisture on his face and the glittering of his eyes when he lifted his head with great effort to look at her. His hand reached out imploringly. "Help.... me..." His voice was hoarse and raspy. "Thirsty... hot..."

This was no time to be squeamish! Nanny gritted her teeth, put her hands underneath his arms, and began to pull him up. He tried to help her as best he could, but it took all Nanny's strength to get him partway up, and even then she staggered backwards under his weight.

Her hands slid across the hot, dry skin of his back as she steadied him, then, without conscious thought, her lips brushed his cheek. "You'll be all right, Willy..." she crooned soothingly.

He automatically turned his face in the direction of her voice, and his lips met hers. For a brief moment their lips met and clung, then he murmured "Nanny..." against her lips. His hands pulled her even closer to his body and Wilkes deepened the kiss, taking her mouth without hiding his need and desire. Nanny's eyes closed and her hands clutched him tightly as her mouth opened beneath his hungry and passionate embrace. Her body clamoured for more, and she moved with him as he stumbled over to the sofa with her still locked in his arms.

Unable to remain upright when Wilkes began to slump, his weight bearing her down, Nanny fell onto the sofa beneath him, her dressing gown and nighty slipping off one shoulder in the process. His body pressed into hers, and she became very, very, very aware of his arousal. "Oh my LORD!" she gasped, pushing futilely at him even as a moan of delight escaped her lips. It was at that inauspicious moment that she became aware of Bill standing transfixed in the doorway.

"William, for Lord's sake, don't just stand there! Come and help me!" she cried, wondering how long he had been standing there. Oh my Lord, he hadn't seen the kiss, had he?

Bill hurried over, trying to hide his grin of amusement. "Looked like you were doing just fine there, Nanny!"

"Sir Wilkes just got out of bed, and I need to get him back in..." Nanny began babbling, then she stopped and blushed, stammering, "th-that... that sounded rawther... I didn't mean..."

"Don't WORRY, Nanny!" Bill finally took pity on her. "I know! I asked you to come here, just a few minutes ago, remember?" Together they managed to get a now-insensible Wilkes to his feet and almost dragged him into the bedroom to lie on the bed. "I just came back to check because one of the guests downstairs is really hot and his wife is giving him a sponge bath and swears that will bring down his temperature. Do you think you could do that for Sir Wilkes?"

"Aoww, I ..." Nanny's instinct was to refuse, but the heat from the sick man was unmistakable, and he was clearly uncomfortable as he moaned faintly.

"Please, Nanny? I'll go check on Eloise for you, then I'll try to get in touch with the doctor and ask him to come back to have another look at Sir Wilkes. But if we could just get him cooler..."

"Oh, for sure, sure, sure. Yes, William, I'll do it..."

"Thanks, Nanny!" Again Bill hugged her, and was out the door in a flash.

Nanny sighed, then went into the bathroom and rummaged for a moment, finding a clean washcloth and towel and a basin. She ran cool water into the basin, and carried it back into the bedroom. Then she retrieved the pitcher of juice she had brought, and poured a bit into a glass. "A drink, Sir Wilkes?" she asked, putting the straw she found on his bedside table to his lips and with her free hand behind his head, helping him lift his head just a bit.

Without opening his eyes, he managed to get a few sips down, then whispered, "Thank you. You're an angel..."

"Oh my stars, stars, stars, I wish I WAS..." Nanny muttered, soaking the washcloth and wringing it out well. She put the cool cloth on his forehead and held it there for a moment. Feeling the heat of his skin through the washcloth, she bit her lip and put it back in the water. He was burning up!

She ran the cloth over his neck and shoulders, then over his broad chest and down to his waist, telling herself not to be so prudish, for Lord's sake! Over and over she put the cooling cloth on him, only to have it warmed considerably by the heat pouring out of him. He began to toss and turn more, and she was having trouble restraining him when she put the cold cloth on him.

"Sir Wilkes, PLEASE!" she said at last when he petulantly pushed her hand away again.

His eyes opened, but he seemed to look through her, not at her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nanny ..."

"No ... no, not Nanny!" He sounded disgusted at the thought.

Nanny was mortified ... he must really hate her! Then she realized he was talking like a child... and thought with a sigh that ALL men acted like children when they were sick. She crooned soothingly again, pushing his hands away gently as she continued to wipe the cooling cloth over his skin.

Suddenly he sat up and stared right at her, his eyes feverishly bright. "You love me, don't you? Even though you're seeing me like this?"

"Lie down, Sir Wilkes ..."

"You love me, right?" he persisted.

"Lie down ..."

"No!" However he was starting to shiver uncontrollably, and his incredulous gaze seemed to go right through her. "Nanny? You're really NANNY?"

"Lie down ..." she repeated, and tried to push him down to pull the sheet up over him. Perhaps the cool cloth had helped a bit if he now knew her! She rolled her eyes at her wishful thinking, and said again, "You MUST lie down, Sir Wilkes..."

"Lie with me, Nanny. I want you." He sounded petulant again.

"Sir Wilkes!"

"If you won't lie down beside me, I'm going to keep sitting up, and I'll catch my death of cold, and THEN you'll be sorry!" was his childish retort.

Desperate now, Nanny agreed and lay down beside him, her arm over him as he huddled under the covers, trembling violently. His eyes closed and gradually his shivering lessened, and he slept. She knew she should get up because William would be back all too soon, and she could just imagine what he would think, finding her lying asleep on Sir Wilkes' bed after he had seen her kissing him earlier! But she was SO tired...

Next thing she knew, she was blinking up at the strange face of a man bending over her, concern all over his kindly face. "Your husband is very sick, ma'am. I'm afraid he should be in the hospital, but with this contagious a case, he really is better off here. Will you be able to nurse him?"

"My 'usband? Willy?" she mumbled, still in a daze. She was lying on her back with a hot, heavy weight over her waist and another over her legs.

"Yes. I'm declaring this suite under quarantine, but if you wish, I will TRY to find a nurse willing to come and relieve you of some of your duties. I understand it's thanks to you that your husband's temperature is slightly lower than it was earlier this evening. Your husband is SIR Wilkes, I believe? So you are a Lady. Well, my Lady, you must have that healing touch... haven't I seen you before in the little girl's suite down the hall? That's no doubt why Sir Wilkes is sick! You simply cannot go back and forth between patients, you know!" Now the doctor sounded faintly disapproving. Shrugging, however, he added, "Well, they do say that love is the best medicine of all! So you'll just have to stay put in this suite now. I've got the quarantine sign here, and..."

Nanny shot up in bed. "Oh, my LORD! QUARANTINE? I can't stay here!" The weights fell away, and now she realized that Sir Wilkes had had an arm and one leg over her. He was lying still, eyes closed, breathing heavily... thank goodness HE wasn't aware that she had been beside him!

"I'm afraid you can't leave. Not now." The doctor looked puzzled, and not quite as benevolent as he had before. "I don't understand..."

"Sir Wilkes is not my 'usband, for Lord's sake!" Nanny scrambled to her feet. "I've got to get back to..."

"I'm sorry." The doctor put his hand on her arm as if afraid she would run away. "You have been in close contact with Sir Wilkes... you simply cannot leave now. You're here in this suite until the quarantine is lifted."

"Oh my sainted Aunt Fanny....! But Eloise... I must go back to our suite..."

"Nanny," Bill spoke from the doorway. "I'll call Rachel. She'll be glad to come over and stay with Eloise until her mother can get home. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that if you came in here, you couldn't go back to Eloise without infecting her again."

"Oh my Lord ..."

"Lily's off sick, but I'll find some extra sheets, Nanny," Bill offered next, "so you can make up a bed on the sofa for yourself. Then I'll come tomorrow and help you change the bed for Sir Wilkes..."

"William, if you don't take care of yourself, YOU are going to be sick, too, for Lord's sake!" Nanny said severely.

He smiled tiredly. "There's isn't anyone else to do it," he said briefly. "I'll be right back, Nanny. And once again, I DO apologize."

"Aowww ..." Nanny waved him out the door, then fixed the doctor with another glare. "'ow long did you say I have to stay here?"

"Until Sir Wilkes' temperature is down and stays down for 24 hours. By then, he should no longer be contagious, and we should know whether or not YOU are going to get it."

Nanny sighed and accepted the inevitable. "Very well. I expect I shall be fine, since I managed to nurse Eloise until now without getting sick..."

"Excellent!" Before Nanny could say any more, the doctor had picked up his black bag and hurried out the door.

Nanny looked glumly at the oblivious man on the bed, then sighed again. It wasn't HIS fault, poor man, that they were in this predicament! If ONLY she hadn't fallen asleep in his bed! Then she blushed hotly, turned and hurried out of his bedroom when she realized that the REAL wish that had crossed her mind was that they had not been sleeping while lying together!

Bill was back shortly with the extra sheets, and helped Nanny make up a bed on the sofa. He told Nanny that Rachel was already with Eloise, since her father was on the mend himself and no longer needed constant care. They checked on Sir Wilkes one more time, and Nanny decided she had to sponge him down again. Promising to bring clean sheets and another pitcher of juice tomorrow morning, as well as Nanny's hot coffee and breakfast, Bill let himself out of the suite. Nanny picked up the basin of cool water and the cloth and proceeded to bathe Sir Wilkes' head, neck and torso once more.

When she had finished and just as she was about to turn away, his hand grasped hers, startling her into a yelp. "Sir Wilkes!"

His eyes, still glittering with fever but exhibiting some intelligence now, bore into hers. He struggled to speak, but his voice was very hoarse. "You're NOT... sleeping on... the sofa? Too short... You must... sleep here..."

"Here's some juice, Sir Wilkes... you should have some more, for sure, sure, sure..." She evaded the question as she put the straw to his lips.

He drank a bit then turned his head away with some effort. "Thank you... Nanny... for..."

"There, there, there, no need to say anything, Sir Wilkes. We all must do what we must do..."

"But you ... already nursed Eloise... I'm sorry..." Then he tried to smile. "Maybe I... should thank... the doctor..."

Nanny straightened up, her face flushing again. Without saying another word, she carried the basin to the bathroom and dumped it, then splashed her own face with cold water from the tap. By the time she ventured out again, Sir Wilkes had fallen into a restless sleep. Gingerly pulling the sheet up around his neck, Nanny's fingers lingered near his warm cheek before she finally tore herself away and tried to get comfortable on the sofa.

O o O o O o


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Bill arrived with Nanny's coffee and breakfast and told her he would be back in about an hour to help change the sheets on Sir Wilkes' bed. Nanny had already checked on the sick gentleman, and it appeared that his fever may have broken although he was still asleep, cocooned in what were now very damp sheets. When she had had her coffee, Nanny phoned Eloise and talked to the little girl on the phone, saying that she was feeling fine, fine, fine, and just as soon as the doctor said that Sir Wilkes was better, she, Nanny, would be home.

"Maman is coming this afternoon," Eloise informed her. "I miss you, Nanny... but I feel lots better now! And Rachel is very nice, too. We're planning her wedding to Bill. She wants me to be her bridesmaid! Isn't that absolutely divine?"

"Oh, for sure, sure, sure, pet! We'll have to get you a new dress, too."

"A pink one! I absolutely LOVE pink!"

"If that's what Rachel wants, love. It IS her wedding, you know," Nanny reminded Eloise gently.

"Oh, I know, but ..." the phone was muffled for a minute, then Eloise was back, "Rachel said I can wear whatever colour I want because if it wasn't for ME, Eloise, she would be Mrs. Brooks Oliver the Third, and THAT would be absolutely horrible! And Nanny, look after Sir Wilkes really, really, really well, okay? Nurse him... no, LOVE him better! Gotta skitter! Ta ta!"

Even as Nanny was protesting, Eloise hung up. Sighing, Nanny replaced the telephone receiver on its cradle, and stared glumly at it. She had WANTED to ask Eloise to pick out some clothes for her to wear! She couldn't wander around Sir Wilkes' flat all day in just her nightclothes, for Lord's sake! She picked up the receiver to call Eloise back, then dropped it when a knock came at the door.

"It's me, Bill, Nanny." His voice floated through the door.

"Oh, William, come in, come in!" Nanny hurried over and opened the door.

"How was your breakfast?" he asked, wheeling the cart in to gather up the empty dishes. "Absolutely divine as usual, albeit somewhat quieter?"

Nanny grinned. "It was indeed!"

"AND," he said, displaying a small satchel, "Rachel sent you this..."

With a glad cry, Nanny reached for the clothing and toiletries that Rachel Peabody had so kindly gathered up for her. "Thank you, William, and DO thank Rachel ever so much for me!"

"She thought you'd be happier dressed," the young man chuckled, "even though I tried to tell her that Sir Wilkes would be happier if you stayed in your nighty!"

"Oh, honestly, William!"

Nanny's glare didn't faze Bill at all. He had seen the burgeoning romance between Nanny and Sir Wilkes and was not averse to helping it along any way he could! The two changed the bed with Sir Wilkes still in it, simply rolling him from side to side. He moaned faintly, but never opened his eyes during the entire operation. Bill told Nanny that he wasn't sure the fever HAD broken, despite the sweat-soaked sheets, and Nanny resigned herself grimly to a few more days of nursing and snatching a bit of sleep on the sofa in between.

When the doctor arrived that afternoon, Sir Wilkes' temperature was up again, and Nanny was once more sponging his upper body with cool water. The doctor nodded approvingly and told her to continue what she was doing. "Sir Wilkes DOES appear to be improving slowly. His temperature is down two degrees from last night."

That evening, after Bill had dropped off more juice and picked up Nanny's supper dishes, Nanny ventured into Sir Wilkes' room to give him a final sponge bath for the day. To her surprise, his eyes were open, and the feverish glint in them was dulled.

"Sir Wilkes... I... I've come to sponge you down again," she stammered, her face flushing.

"Thank you," he murmured huskily. "I DO feel better afterwards, I must admit."

This time, however, Nanny was finding it very difficult to rub the cloth over his face and chest. It was far, far, far easier to do it without his eyes never leaving her face, for Lord's sake! She gave a cursory swipe over his chest and down his arms before picking up the basin.

"Nanny?" He caught her skirt and stopped her as she turned away.

"Yes, Sir Wilkes?" Nanny asked softly, not looking at him.

"If I rolled over, could you wash my back? I just feel... sticky. I'm sorry to ask it of you..."

He DID sound repentant, and rawther ashamed of having to ask, so Nanny tightened her hold on her emotions and turned back to him. "Of course, Sir Wilkes."

By the time she had finished his back, Sir Wilkes was snoring softly again, sprawled on his stomach. Nanny watched him for a moment with longing eyes, then carefully pulled up the sheet and tucked it around his shoulders before retreating to the living room and the sofa that had given her a sore back the night before.

O o O o O o

For the next few days, as Wilkes very slowly improved, he and Nanny were very correct around each other, not speaking of the kisses they had shared at Christmas nor of the one a few nights before when Nanny had first arrived in his suite. It was as if they were strangers; as if Nanny was merely someone the doctor had called in to nurse Wilkes through his illness.

Nanny was sure Sir Wilkes had either forgotten or regretted all the kisses. She was convinced he had only been caught up in the moment on Christmas Eve and had been rawther glad of the chance to escape, so had no intentions of bringing up the kisses. Wilkes was convinced she was in his suite only because the doctor had decreed that she could not leave. He was sure that she didn't love him because she had never responded to his letter telling her of his love and begging for an answer.

At last, while making his daily afternoon visit, the doctor told Nanny that if all stayed well and she continued to show no signs of illness, he would probably be lifting the quarantine the following afternoon. She nodded, trying to figure out why she had a sinking feeling in her stomach when she should be happy at the prospect of being allowed to leave. Her eyes never met Sir Wilkes', and she followed the doctor out of the room to see him out. When the doctor was gone, she hesitated before returning to the bedroom. Before she took a step, a shaky Wilkes appeared in the doorway.

"Nanny? I ... I was afraid you had gone..."

"Tomorrow ... Sir Wilkes, you must get back to bed!"

Instead, he made his way unsteadily to the sofa. She wrenched her sheets off just before he sat down and leaned back with a groan. "I didn't think... I was that weak!" he muttered, his eyes closed.

Nanny nervously bunched the sheets in her hand, then tossed them behind the sofa. "Could I get you anything? Some juice? Water? Tea?"

"Not right now, thank you."

Nanny perched tentatively on the edge of a chair. There was silence in the room. "I wasn't sure you were coming back to New York City, Sir Wilkes," Nanny said at last. "When Miss Thompson told me that your brother-in-law had passed away and that your nephew was talking about moving the business back to England, I thought you might be staying there with your sister."

Wilkes opened his eyes and stared at her, surprised. "But I told you in the letter that I wrote to you that I would be back! If you could answer my question the way I was hoping, of course. I just assumed, when I didn't hear anything, that you could not find it in your heart to give me the answer I wanted. But I still had to come back to tidy things up here."

Nanny stared at him in some disbelief. "You... you WROTE to me? From England?"

"Of course. And asked you to reply only if you could give me a positive answer to my question. I never heard a word... so knew that was my answer. I am terribly sorry you were forced to nurse me now..."

"I never got a letter..." Nanny almost whimpered in her distress. What had he asked, for Lord's sake? And where was the letter?

He gaped at her. "Never ... never got...?"

"No." After a long moment, spent staring into each other's eyes, Nanny whispered, "Might I ask, Sir Wilkes, what the question WAS?" She almost held her breath in anticipation.

At that moment, the telephone rang.

O o O o O o

What with Bill bringing their supper just before Wilkes got off the telephone to his sister, and then Eloise talking to Nanny, then Wilkes tiring rapidly and barely making it back to his bed before he collapsed, Nanny never did find out what question Sir Wilkes had asked her in the letter he had supposedly written then sent from England. As she curled up on the sofa, hoping that it would be the last night she would have to spend there, Nanny was afraid to allow herself to imagine that he had told her he loved her and wanted to marry her. Of course, THAT was an impossibility for Lord's sake... but still, it was sweet to consider.

After a few hours of thumping her pillow and turning carefully over and over, Nanny finally fell asleep, only to be awakened by a crash from the bedroom. Startled, she moved too quickly and fell off the sofa to land with a thump on the floor. "Oww!" she yelped. Struggling to get out of the tangled sheets, she finally made it to her feet and hurried to the bedroom where she collided with Sir Wilkes in the doorway as he was coming out to see what had happened to her. "Sir WILKES!" she squeaked, her hands gripping his arms as he steadied her. "What happened?"

"I knocked over my glass trying to get a drink. What happened to YOU?"

"I ... fell off the sofa," she admitted, loving the feel of his arms around her. Then she felt him waver a bit. "Sir Wilkes, you must get back into bed..."

She steered him over and he obediently sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her down beside him with a firm hand and reaching for the bedside light with the other. "We need to talk, Nanny," Wilkes began, when their eyes had adjusted to the light once more. "In the letter..."

"Yes, Sir Wilkes?" Nanny prompted when he paused. She found herself wondering if he really HAD written a letter, or if it was just something he was saying to let her down lightly.

In it, I ... I told you how much you meant to me... and asked if you could... if you DID... feel the same about me." He timidly reached for her hand, and with her hand enveloped in his larger one, Nanny felt... safe... warm... cherished.

"I ..." she began.

"I understand you can't answer this now... but if you will... think about... us..."

Nanny gulped audibly. "We've been under quarantine... together... What will people say...?" she whispered.

"I'm not really worried about 'people' in general. The ones whose opinion I value will understand — if they even hear about the quarantine." Wilkes stroked his thumb across the back of her hand, sending an almost forgotten thrill skittering across her skin. "You are the one I want to see... happy."

Nanny tried to ease her hand back, but Wilkes only held on tighter. Nanny was sure that if she had any sense at all, she would not be thinking he really was 'wooing' her. She was nearing seventy. Her skin had lost its elasticity and certain body parts that shouldn't now drooped. Men like Sir Wilkes didn't pursue women like HER; they always seemed to prefer younger, nubile women. She finally patted his hand and gently extricated herself. "I AM happy," she said, and stood up. "I have a good life with Eloise and... and Kay... and friends like you..."

"I just wish you'd let me be more to you," Wilkes told her, speaking in a low, significant voice.

Nanny was flustered. She wasn't exactly sure what 'more' meant, and wasn't sure she WANTED to know. It sounded... wicked, decadent... wonderful. She sighed. "You can't be more. You are already much more than you think... much, much, much! Besides," she added, trying to lighten the mood, "I'm almost seventy. Too old for you. You're practically a baby."

Wilkes smiled slowly. Nanny's eyes widened as she felt her body respond to his look. He stood up beside her and said huskily, "Sixty is well beyond infancy, Nanny. Well beyond adolescence, for that matter. If you were only twenty, you probably would bore me to tears."

"What if I was ... thirty-five?" she suggested wildly.

"A trophy wife? No thank you."

The word 'wife' gave Nanny pause for a moment. She swallowed, then continued, "Very well. If I was... forty-five... or even fifty." Nanny could already envision Wilkes' ideal woman... someone born into his class, someone petite and dainty and beautiful, someone with no wrinkles and not a trace of gray in her hair. In short, Wilkes deserved someone not at all like her. "Oh my Lord, Sir Wilkes! You probably have quite a few women chasing you! I am sure there are many women in New York City alone who would want you!"

His eyebrows raised at that extravagant claim, then he nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, indeed, I am almost certain there are many exceptional women, and all in pursuit of stout, balding, bumbling corporate magnates! It's a growing problem in the industry, you know. The women, I mean. Chasing men such as I... doubtless for our minds... or could it really be our bodies?" The look on his face was comical.

A chuckle burst out of Nanny although she tried to hold it back. In a moment, they were both laughing. Then she was in his arms, and the kiss they shared was all they had remembered their kisses to be. After she had wound her arms around his neck and hung on, knowing her knees would buckle when the kiss ended, Nanny finally remembered that she had to breathe, although she wasn't sure she wanted to stop the kissing.

"I shouldn't want this... I don't NEED a man in my life!" Nanny gasped breathlessly at last.

"Maybe I need you," was his retort, before giving her another mind-blowing kiss.

"Sir Wilkes, please ...." She tried to push away from him, struggling to remember that they came from different worlds. She tried to tell herself that she shouldn't be feeling so much for him after merely a few kisses, because after all, she had kissed other men, albeit a long, long time ago. Still, she KNEW that none of those men had touched her, tempted her, unnerved her the way Sir Wilkes did.

"I think you may safely call me Wilkes, or Willy, now," he said, his breathing erratic. Nanny might say she didn't need him, but it was obvious that she wanted him. He was aware of the most basic, desperate longing to be in her life. His mouth covered hers again.

Nanny sank against him, fumbling in the darkness of her need, of not knowing why she was so drawn to him nor why he was paying attention to HER... of never having been with a man quite like him and feeling sure that he must have lost all good sense. He slid his hands down her back again, and she clung to him. "Wilkes, I..."

He cut her off with a kiss that made her forget everything except the delight she was experiencing. It had been so long! Then she held her breath. He was... SHE was... moving too fast.

"Tell me to stop, Nanny," he breathed against her lips, one hand moving in circles on her hip, urging her lower body closer to his.

She moaned. "You... should... but..." Her body suddenly seemed to liquify against him, a tingling radiating outward from her centre and rushing through every vein. She wanted more, even as she pulled slightly away from him. Her hands went under his pyjama top to smooth over his chest, fingertips gliding over him hesitantly.

Wilkes groaned in delight at her touch, then he very reluctantly stopped his own caresses and gripped her upper arms. "No, Nanny!"

"But ...?" Her fingers never stopped their movements.

"I can't and won't compromise you..." With another groan, this time of regret, he grudgingly released his hold on her and forced himself to step back out of the way of her hands. "Will you marry me, Nanny?"

Still dazed from his kisses, Nanny could only shake her head and whisper, "Sir Wilkes, no... I can't... you're above my station...!"

He gritted his teeth and fought the dizziness that was beginning to sweep over him. He had thought the heat pouring over him was from kissing Nanny, but now he wasn't so sure. "I don't care about that. I've NEVER cared about that. Nanny, please... marry me. I love you and I want you so badly..."

"I ... I ..."

"Marry me ... let me love you as you deserve to be loved..." he begged, then suddenly his face went white and he swayed.

"Willy? Sir Wilkes!" Nanny sprang to catch him, and realized he was hot again, much hotter than he should have been.

With difficulty but with his help, she managed to get him back into bed where he closed his eyes. Once again she sponged his face and neck until he felt cooler to the touch, then she collapsed beside him and, despite all that had gone on between them, she fell asleep.

O o O o O o

Only half awake, Nanny gradually became aware that she was lying against Wilkes. She could feel his heat all down her body. She didn't want anything to stop this dream, so she remained perfectly still. It had been a long, lonely time without a man in her life... in her bed. Then he moved slightly, and she realized he was awake when his hands began to wander. Their desire for each other overtook them in this vulnerable period, and in moments they were entangled together. She strained to aid him in his quest for fulfilment, as she had been taught by her one and only lover so long ago. Suddenly a strangled cry of surprise and ecstasy escaped Nanny's lips as her release exploded through her with unexpected force. Nanny felt herself surging on a tide of pleasure and emotion too intense to comprehend, and finally she allowed herself to relax and have it carry her away.

Wilkes sensed she had dropped back to sleep, and as his breathing slowed, he pondered her reactions. He had not been her first lover, that much was obvious... but she had never before experienced a release such as she had just had... that much, too, was obvious. Smiling at having given her that gift at least, in exchange for the wonderful gift she had given him, he fell asleep, his arm still firmly around her.

O o O o O o

It was the sun shining in her eyes that finally awakened Nanny late the next morning after a deeply-satisfying albeit short sleep filled with incredible dreams. Then she realized that she was still pressed against Wilkes, his hand possessively resting on her bare hip. A twinge between her legs made her aware more than anything that the passion they had shared only hours before had NOT been only a dream. Oh, my Lord! Suddenly she was aroused at the thought of making love with Wilkes again. She wasn't totally inexperienced by any means, but until last night she had never known that being with a man could be so consuming, so INCREDIBLE, leaving her feeling sensual, feminine and completely fulfilled.

She eased out of the bed and went into the bathroom, checking the clock as she went and relieved to find that William would not be along with their breakfast for another hour. By the time she was finished and back in the bedroom, Wilkes was on his feet, too.

"'ow are you feeling thus far today?" Nanny asked anxiously, putting her hand on his forehead for an instant as if he were Eloise.

His grin as he caught her hand in his and drew her closer made her realize that he was nothing at all like Eloise. "I'm wonderful, Nanny. Ready for a wedding."

"A ... wedding?"

"A wedding," he confirmed. "OUR wedding. I've compromised you, despite my vow NOT to... I can only plead extreme exhaustion and perhaps a bit of fever. Fortunately, this morning I'm fine, except, of course, for being desperate to continue our relationship within the bonds of holy matrimony. You WILL marry me now, won't you?"

"Now?" she asked faintly, leaning against his solid body. "Oh, Wilkes... I... I can't. I must tell you... what I've never told anyone before..." Slowly and haltingly she revealed her long-buried secret – that she had had a child out of wedlock long after she should have known better. The man who had taken her innocence and virginity without offering her love in return had spurned her when she had told him of her pregnancy. She had been hoping that when the baby was born, he would change his mind, but when she was six months along, the man had been tragically killed and the news had sent Nanny into premature labour. She had been quite ill for a long time following the child's birth and with her having no family or friends to help, the child had been given up for adoption.

"You never saw your baby again?" Wilkes was astounded at the story.

Nanny drew back and lowered her head, not able to look at him. "When I had recovered, my baby was six months old and had been in an 'appy home all that time. I... I found out who had adopted her... and... well, do you remember the story of Moses in the bible? Like Moses' mother, when her baby was adopted by the Pharoah's daughter, I... I became MY baby's nanny. She doesn't know to this day that I am really her mother."

There was a long pause as Wilkes processed the information he had just received. Then his eyes widened as he made the connection. "Eloise is really your grand-daughter, not merely a charge! THAT is why Kay looked familiar... she looks a little like you. She has your beautiful eyes. So Kay's father... never married you?"

"Oh my Lord, no! He didn't love me. I was an amusement... a challenge. I suppose I should have known better, and really should have known that a... man of his station would never... marry someone like me..." Her eyes searched his, resignation mingled with shame in her voice.

Wilkes stared at her incredulously. Yes, he had heard her say before something along those lines, but surely she hadn't been serious? The pain in her eyes was all too indicative of the truth she perceived. "Nanny," he said as he drew her back into his arms, "you must learn to believe in yourself. As my wife..."

"Wilkes, please ..." Her pain spilled over into her voice and she tried to pull away. "You mustn't say such things. It's not possible, for Lord's sake! Think what your family and friends would say! No, no, no, I cannot possibly marry you..."

His embrace tightened. "You DO love me, don't you?"

"You know that I do!" she cried in anguish. "Oh, knickers, why are you torturing me like this?" She struggled to get away from him.

"Nanny, listen to me!" His voice was suddenly commanding, and she stilled, turning wide eyes to his. "You are a wonderful person. Kind. Witty. Intelligent. What is more, I love you more than I have ever imagined I could love anyone. Marry me. Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world!"

"You're just saying that because of... because of what we... because of this morning..." Nanny was pale but resolute. "Oh my stars, stars, stars, you cannot want to MARRY me!"

"I asked you in my letter to be my wife... and that was BEFORE... this morning," he said.

The letter ... the letter she had never got, so his words were impossible to prove. Nanny could NOT marry Wilkes and drag his name through the mud in high society – as the father of her child had accused her of wanting to do to HIM. She loved Wilkes much too much to do that to him! Just then, a knock came at the door.

Nanny dashed her tears away. "That'll be William. Please, Wilkes, let's not discuss it now... not with William here..."

Grimly Wilkes released her and stalked to the door. He had no idea how to convince her of his love and his desire to marry her, and was terrified that he was going to lose her if he continued to argue.

"Nanny ... Sir Wilkes! I'm glad you're up and obviously feeling much better!" Bill wheeled in his cart, grinning at them. "And Nanny, guess what? A surprise for you! A letter... from England!"

"A letter? For ME?" Nanny eagerly took the letter, wondering who she knew in England. She felt around her neck for her glasses, then looked vaguely around wondering where she had left them this time.

Wilkes caught a glimpse of the written address, and his heart leapt. It was the letter he had written! How opportune that it should arrive today, of all days, if it could not have arrived when it SHOULD have come! By the time Nanny found her glasses, Bill had set out the breakfast and was gone. For once Nanny ignored the rawther hot coffee and ripped open the letter.

Her mouth dropped open as she read the signature at the bottom, and she looked at Wilkes who returned her look evenly. Biting her lip, Nanny read the letter twice, the second time through tears she couldn't prevent from spilling. Then she was in Wilkes' arms, breakfast forgotten.

He kissed her, warmly and slowly. Nanny whispered almost fearfully, "I hope you won't think I'm..."

"Beautiful? Passionate? Hungry for me?" He supplied words she had never even thought of saying. "I'm thinking of how many years I wasted, not knowing you..."

Nanny gasped in relief that he had not spurned her as her first lover had, and Wilkes' tender loving finally erased the memories of the man who had taken her love and refused to return it. "I love you..."

"I love you, Nanny." came his answering whisper. "Please... say you'll marry me..."

Her head spun and she revelled in the giddiness. Love had been waiting for her here, like this ... waiting for her to awaken and acknowledge it. Her love had been waiting for his loving kiss. No one had ever wanted her quite like this, touched her quite like this, needed her quite like this... loved her quite like this! THIS was love – truly the only present that counted!

O o O o O o

Wilkes and Nanny were married three days later. Eloise had been absolutely horrified when she had realized that her life would change the moment Nanny married Sir Wilkes. She had been unable to believe that it had never occurred to her that once married, Nanny would no longer be living in her suite, no longer be at her beck and call every moment of every day and night. For a moment Eloise had been all for breaking up the wedding just as she had aided in breaking up Rachel's wedding to Brooks. But then she had spoken with her mother and most of all, on the wedding day she had looked at Nanny's face which was full of love for Sir Wilkes and radiant with her happiness, and she knew that it was as she, Eloise, had told Mr. Peabody on Christmas Eve.

Eloise had wanted Rachel to have true love, and had known that it couldn't possibly be with Brooks Oliver III. She had passionately defended her actions to Mr. Peabody, by saying that if he just LOOKED at Bill and Rachel, REALLY looked at them, he would know that they belonged together, and that Rachel's heart had always been with Bill. Now, looking at Nanny as she held Sir Wilkes' hand shyly yet as if she were overjoyed, Eloise knew that here, too, she was seeing true love. Nanny and Sir Wilkes BELONGED together, even though Eloise was sure she was absolutely heart-broken at losing Nanny as HER mostly companion!

Then Eloise was in Nanny's arms. "Oh, pet," Nanny whispered against the child's hair, squeezing her tightly, "I do, do, DO love you! It was you who gave me the courage to listen to my 'eart... you who made Sir Wilkes notice me... you who taught me to keep trying even though I thought it was impossible, you who allowed me to recognize the presents that count. You've got one of the biggest 'earts I know, for sure, sure, sure!"

"Nanny, I absolutely love you," Eloise had tears in her eyes, and she wasn't sure if they were tears of happiness for Nanny or sadness for herself. "I just don't know what I'll do without you for my mostly companion all the time!"

Nanny looked up at Wilkes, then over to Kay, then back to Wilkes. He nodded slightly. Various emotions chasing across her face, Nanny kissed Eloise's forehead, then cupped her face and stared at her, saying huskily, "I think you'll have to start thinking of me as your grandmother now, love. How would that be?"

As Eloise cried out gladly and hugged Nanny again, Nanny's eyes met Kay's. Kay smiled slowly, her own love for Nanny showing on her lovely face. "Thank you.... Mother," she mouthed.

Nanny's mouth fell open in surprise. Kay's smile widened. "I've known for years," she admitted in an undertone. "But I didn't want to say anything until you did. I just tried to SHOW how much I loved you."

Standing up awkwardly, Nanny hardly noticed when Wilkes picked up Eloise and gave her a big hug, telling her she could call him Grandpa if she wanted. "You... knew?" she whispered.

Indicating Eloise with a faint laugh and tears in her eyes, Kay murmured, "Like mother, like daughter? Thank you, Mother, for loving Eloise and taking care of her for me until now so that I didn't have to give her up... and thank you for loving and caring for me in spite of all I put you through..."

"Oh, KAY!" and Nanny clasped her daughter to her, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh my Lord!" Eloise said in disgust, having missed the undercurrents but not the obvious emotions. "This is supposed to be an absolutely divinely HAPPY time, Nanny! You aren't supposed to CRY, for Lord's sake!"

"Happy tears, love," Nanny chuckled, dashing the tears away with a trembling hand. "Just tears of happiness, for sure, sure, sure."

"I hope YOU understand her, Sir Grandpa, 'cause I absolutely do NOT!" Eloise rolled her eyes as she looked at Wilkes.

"I've heard it's impossible to understand women... AND that women ALWAYS cry at weddings," Wilkes said dryly. "Must be because they're suddenly realizing what they're getting themselves into!"

Eloise shook her head. "Or maybe because they don't get the right present! They'd be absolutely fine if they realized which presents REALLY count, for Lord's sake!" she said sagely.

"Oh, I realize it, pet, for sure, sure, sure!" Nanny hugged Eloise, then moved into Wilkes' arms again. "It's the presents from the heart which count... proof of the love between us," she whispered just before her lips met Wilkes', neither one of them caring about Eloise's faint grimace of disgust.

The End!


End file.
